Finding Our Way
by troypazash
Summary: Troy and Sharpay are on their way to the divorce of the year but what happens when tragedy strikes their family. Will they be able to find their way back to each other?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm back with my second Troypay story, its definitely a lot more dramatic than my first one. This will also be a much longer chapter story. I hope that you'll enjoy it and please review if you read it. Thanks a bunch.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything High School Musical related! This will have some mature content as the fic progresses.**

**Summary: Troy and Sharpay are separated and on their way to a messy divorce. When one of their kids gets sick, everything changes for them. While taking care of their son, will they find they way back to one another? Troypay! With a little bit of Chaylor and Ryan/O.C.**

* * *

"You're late," Sharpay hissed as she flung open the front door, she didn't even have to look to see who it was. She had been expecting him for over an hour now, almost two.

"I'm sorry I'm late Sharpay but I got caught up at the office," Troy replied as he walked into his former home.

"A phone call would have been nice," Sharpay shut the door before crossing her arms across her chest in typical Sharpay fashion. "You have heard of a phone haven't you Troy? It's that new fangled invention where you…"

Troy cut her off, not in the mood for her sarcasm tonight. "I'm sorry ok, where are they?" Troy questioned, usually they were waiting patiently by the front door instead all he saw were their three tiny packed bags. It was just so much easier to get in and get out that way they wouldn't have to converse or rather fight.

"Having dinner in the kitchen."

"What? You know that I always take them out to dinner! Its my weekend with them!" Troy tried his hardest not to yell just in case they could hear him but he was definitely upset with Sharpay.

"Troy, its 7:30! Its almost their bedtime, they had to eat. I'm not just going to starve my children. If you would have been here on time like you promised, you could have taken them out to dinner. They're probably almost finished, would you like to wait in your car and I can send them outside when they're all done."  
"Are you serious?" Troy asked incredulously, he couldn't believe that she was being serious.

"Well I just thought it might be a little awkward if you waited inside the house, that's all," she shrugged.

"Well in case you forgot, I still own this house Sharpay and I'll come in when I please," Troy was fuming; he couldn't even stand to look at her right now. So instead he made his way into the kitchen to find his kids whom he missed terribly.

"Daddy!" three year old Aidan screamed once he saw his father walking into the room.

"Dad!" six year old twins Evan and Ella jumped out of their seats and into their father's waiting arms.

"Hey guys!" Troy's anger at Sharpay receded as soon as his kids were snuggled safe in his arms. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too Daddy," Ella kissed her father and smiled at him; she was such a daddy's girl and extremely spoiled.

"Wait for me," Aidan slowly climbed out of his chair and made his way over to Troy, he just couldn't be left out. Whatever his brother and sister did, he just had to do too.

"Guys you need to finish your dinner," Sharpay stated as she walked into the kitchen and took witness of their group hug, even she had to admit that they all looked quite cute together.

"But Mom, Dad's here," Evan pouted as he looked up towards Sharpay.

"I know," Sharpay's voice softened, her children were the light of her life and she would never let them see her anger towards their father. Troy was still; after all, their father and she respected that. "So that means you need to finish up so you can go with Daddy tonight."

"Ok, ok," Evan ran back to his seat, followed by Ella.

"Here buddy," Troy picked up his youngest and placed him in his chair. "Mmm looks good," Troy's mouth was watering as he watched the kids eating lasagna. He had skipped lunch today due to a meeting that ran extremely late; he had been looking forward to taking the children out for dinner because he was starving himself.

"Mommy's a good cook," Ella smiled before she took a big mouthful.

"Yeah Mommy's a very good cook," Troy replied as he caught sight of Sharpay from the corner of his eye, for a second he could have sworn that she was blushing.

"I bet you're hungry after being at the office for so long, you could eat with the kids," Sharpay suggested as she walked over to the island where the casserole dish full of lasagna was placed right next to a big bowl of salad.

"Are you sure because I don't want to impose or …"

"Its fine," Sharpay replied. "But you can get it yourself," she added, it was one thing to be nice to him for the sake of their children but there was no way she was going to be his little servant girl, not in this life anyway.

Troy nodded, "I'm pretty sure I know where everything is, that is if you haven't changed everything around."

"Nope Daddy, everything is still the same," Evan spoke with a big mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Both Troy and Sharpay reprimanded him.

"Sorry," Evan muttered, no one else's parents were as big on manners as his were. "Sheesh."

"You're not eating?" Troy questioned as he made his way around their very spacious kitchen, grabbing a plate and all the proper utensils required for dining.

"Um no, I'm actually meeting someone for dinner."

That certainly peeked Troy's interest, "Oh," Troy said coolly.

"Just someone from the theatre," Sharpay responded casually, trying to judge his reaction. "I'm actually running a bit late."

"Oh…oh, because of me," Sharpay nodded reluctantly. "I'm sorry Sharpay, you should have said something."

"It's alright, he can wait, better to keep him on his toes right?" She giggled lightly as she tucked a strand of her long blond hair behind her ear.

"Yeah right," Troy forced a smile, they were separated, their divorce wouldn't be final for another couple of months but he hated the idea of her going out with another man. "You can leave Sharpay, if you want. You shouldn't be any later because of me."

"But what about the kids?"

"They're fine; we're going back to my place anyway. I can lock up for you after they finish their dinner, it won't be a problem."

"Um, alright," Sharpay said hesitantly, she really hated saying goodbye to them on the weekends.

"Good, you go out and have a great time!" Troy exclaimed, hoping that she would buy his happy go lucky act. He couldn't let her see that her little date was affecting him greatly.

"Yeah," Sharpay forced a smile. "Alright guys, Mommy's going to go but I want you to have a fun time with Daddy alright." Sharpay gave each of her kids a hug and a kiss before grabbing her purse to leave. They all screamed goodbye to their mommy as she left.

As soon as she was in her SUV, she pulled out her cell phone. "Pick up…pick up…pick up…please I hope you haven't left yet."

"Hello," a male voice finally answered his cell phone.

"Change of plans, I'm coming to your place. Order some Thai and I'll pick up a bottle of wine on the way. I'll see you soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed, it really means a lot to me! You're all so sweet! Here's the next update, nothing too major but some drama will definitely start stirring pretty soon. Please review and thanks a bunch for reading!**

* * *

Sharpay knew he was home, the lights were on but he was taking forever to open the door and Sharpay hated waiting, he definitely knew that. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the door swung open. Just in time too because she was about to start some major banging on his door just to show how unhappy she was with him.

"Hi," a young man swept pass Sharpay and out into the night.

"Um hi back," Sharpay frowned as she stepped into the house as the man ran to a car all the way down the street. "God, Ryan, I hope he was at least legal, he looks like he's about sixteen."

"Nice to see you too Shar," Ryan shut the door after his sister stormed through it. "And of course he's legal; who do you think I am? I'm not a pedophile. His name is Joe…no, no its Jim…yeah Jim and he's twenty-two, about to be a senior at the University of Albuquerque. He's an adorable one isn't he, I met him at Starbucks."

"Ryan! You're ten years older than him; you don't see anything wrong with that?" Sharpay questioned.

"Not really, why?"

"You're incorrigible, where's the pad thai? I'm starving."

"Should be here in a couple of minutes," Ryan answered. "Why'd you come over here? I thought I was meeting you at your place. You're lucky that Jim and I were finishing up when you called."

"Eww," Sharpay got a nasty mental picture of her brother and Jim and 'whatever' they were finishing up. "Change of plans," Sharpay shrugged as she sat down on Ryan's couch. She placed her purse and a bottle of Ryan's favorite red Zinfandel on the coffee table.

"Care to elaborate," Ryan flung himself down next to her, exhausted from his previous activities.

"Troy's at the house," Sharpay replied quickly.

"So what does that have to do with me stopping by? Troy and I are still friends, I haven't seen him in a while it would have been nice to catch up."

"Ugh, don't remind me. You're my brother; I don't know why you can't take my side on this, Ryan."

"We are so not getting into this conversation again but you know just for the record you know I support you always, you're my baby sister."

"Only by three minutes and I'm way more responsible than you are and…"Sharpay yammered on until Ryan cut her off.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…You're my BABY sister and I love you. Family before friends but anyway quit changing the subject…Speak, now!"

"I told Troy I was meeting someone…a man from the Theater."

"So you're lying to him now?"

"I did not lie to him, you're a man, although barely, and I work with you at the theater."

"Fine you're a details omitter."

"That's not even a word! Whatever," Sharpay rolled her eyes just as the doorbell rang. "Food! Great! Its about damn time, I'm absolutely famished."

"Can you get that? I don't have any cash on me," Ryan smirked from the couch, he was wearing a t-shirt and red silk pajama pants.

"Whatever," Sharpay stood up and grabbed her purse before answering the front door. She paid the delivery man and graciously accepted the bags of steaming hot food. "Do you have any new movies?"

"No but we can see what's on Demand," Ryan replied as she sat back down on the couch.

"Fine with me," Sharpay grabbed a container of food and a fork and dug in just like she used to do when she and Ryan were kids. Often they were left with their nanny to their own devices so they used to have a movie night complete with takeout and dessert. They ate in front of the T.V. with no plates; it was very informal especially for life at the very formal Evans household.

"You know," Ryan paused for a minute as he blew on his curry chicken; it was still too hot to eat, "Trying to make Troy jealous isn't the solution."

"Yeah no kidding, he barely batted an eyelash when I told him I was going out, what an ass," Sharpay grunted at the thought of Troy's little smug face. Oh but what a beautiful face it was, Sharpay shook herself out of any pleasant thoughts of her soon to be ex, she'd much rather be mad at him.

"I don't know why you put yourself through this all the time, Shar," Ryan frowned at his sister.

"Do what?" Sharpay questioned before taking a bite of her own pad thai.

"Make yourself so miserable, I know that you don't want a divorce. Is it so wrong that you actually still love your husband?"

"Ry…love it's just not…not enough anymore," Sharpay found her eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh Shar."

She sniffled and took a deep breath, trying her best to hold back the tears. If she opened the floodgates now, there would be no stopping them. Instead of enjoying a movie, Ryan would have to spend the rest of the night putting her back together again. "As much as I love Troy, our marriage fell apart and I don't think we can ever get back to where we used to be. I don't want my kids to hear their parents fighting all day, everyday. It's not good for them; I just want them to be happy. With Troy and I at each other's throats, it just…it's not healthy."

"And neither is letting the love of your life go without putting up a fight."

"We tried Ryan, it didn't work, we're both so unhappy, its better this way," Sharpay sniffled, if only she could believe her own words.

After they finished eating their lasagna, Troy was all ready to take the kids back to his townhouse. However they didn't quite leave as planned, Aidan realized that he didn't have "Mr. Bear" and there was no way that he could leave without it. So they spent a whole thirty minutes looking for him, complete with a mini-meltdown from Aidan and protests from Ella. That dumb bear couldn't be found anywhere and Troy was not about to call Sharpay for help so instead he promised Aidan ice cream if they could leave. He agreed, bribery always worked. They went to the ice cream shop and each had a couple of scoops before heading back to Troy's house. They made it to Troy's at about 9:30, way past the kids' bedtime. So off to bed they went, but not without a fight. As Troy was getting Aidan ready for bed, he opened his little duffle bag and was more than surprised to see "Mr. Bear." Aidan was overjoyed and much easier to put down. The twins on the other hand wanted to stay up, complaining that they didn't get enough time together. More bribery came into play, Troy offered them a trip to the toy store the next day. Troy wasn't too big of a fan of bribery, he really was a great father but he was just too exhausted to put up a fight and follow through. Troy tucked the boys into their bunk beds before going into the other room to say goodnight to Ella.

Troy climbed into his bed and attempted to fall asleep. He knew that sleep was far off, it always was. Despite how completely and utterly exhausted he was, sleep was just something that no longer came easily anymore. Sleeping in this big foreign bed was still difficult for him, he missed his old bed at home where she was, where his family was. Instead he was all alone, except for most weekends when he had the kids over but still it was never enough. During the week, he woke up still tired and grumpy after only getting a couple of hours of sleep. The weekends were a little better since the kids were there but he still never got as much sleep as a person actually needs. Troy grabbed the remote; T.V. was his only option right now. He hated lying awake in the dark; he'd be left to his own thoughts which were mostly depressing.

"Daddy," Aidan stood in the doorway with tears running down his little cheeks, his little blonde hair all atop his head and a little teddy bear, Mr. Bear, in his tiny hand.

"Come here Aidan," Troy sat up in bed as his son ran to him, it took him a moment to climb up in bed but he finally succeeded. "What's wrong buddy?" He cradled him to his chest as he rubbed his back gently, trying to soothe him.

"I scared," Aidan sniffled. "I don't like that bed."

"I know," Troy sighed; they had gone through this before, in fact, it happened almost every other time the kids were with him. "Want to sleep with Daddy tonight?" He just didn't have it in him to take him back to bed four times.

"Yeah," Aidan nodded as he slipped his tiny frame underneath the warmth of Troy's down comforter. "I miss Mommy," Aidan yawned before he closed his eyes.

"I miss Mommy too," Troy said on deaf ears for Aidan had fallen asleep that quickly.

With a sigh, Troy turned on the T.V., Aidan slept like the dead so the T.V. noise wouldn't bother him. It was nice to have his son with him, now he wasn't so alone but nothing was better than wrapping his arms around the woman that he loved but that would never happen again. Maybe one day he would find someone else but now that was the last thing on his mind. He knew that he would never find anyone to replace Sharpay, not that he wanted too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for all of the great reviews guys, I'm loving them. Please keep them coming! Here's the next chapter, tried to make it a little longer but I didn't have a lot of time. Thanks so much for reading! And stay tuned, the next update is going to have something big!**

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"Maybe I should give them a call," Sharpay nervously tapped her fingers on the table as she and Taylor waited for their lunch to arrive. "It sounded like Aidan was coming down with something yesterday; he said his throat had a Froggy in it, his own words," Sharpay grinned as she thought of her precious baby, he was as cute as a button and said the darndest things. "I should drop off his medicine, I know that Troy doesn't have any, he never does." Sharpay dug into her designer purse and pulled out her cell phone.

"Don't even think about it," Taylor grabbed her best friend's cell phone before she even had the chance to dial.

"Hey!" Sharpay exclaimed as she tried to get it back but her friend held it far away from her. "I need to check on Aidan."

"The kids are fine and you know it," Taylor responded. "Troy's a great father, they'll be fine."

"I know," Sharpay sighed, "It's just that I miss them so much. I don't know how we're going to be able to ship them back and forth for the next ten or fifteen years."

"Sweetie I'm sure that by then, you'll be used to it already."

"That's the thing Tay, I don't want to be used to it. I don't want to ship my kids off every weekend or every other weekend so they can spend time with their father. Maybe I should just petition for full custody."

"Sharpay Bolton!" Taylor was surprised that Sharpay would ever consider that.

"I wouldn't ever do it," Sharpay glared at her friend and let out a long exasperated sigh. "I couldn't do that to Troy, it would kill him and I couldn't do that to my kids…I just wish…I don't know."

"I know this is hard Shar but…" Taylor was interrupted by the waiter bringing their salads. "Thanks."

"You know what? Let's not talk about this anymore, happy thoughts at lunch remember? Isn't that why you dragged me out of my pajamas at the butt crack of dawn in the first place?"

"It is indeed," Taylor laughed. "And don't act like you're not enjoying yourself, you put a whole new meaning on 'shop till you drop' this morning."

"So Dr. Danforth how's life?" Sharpay asked as she cut a piece of chicken before taking a bite. Taylor was a psychiatrist, having earned her PhD at twenty six after an extremely accelerated program.

"Unbelievably crazy," Taylor responded before taking a bite of her salad. "The office is crazy, the kids are crazy and I'm so exhausted."

"Being six months pregnant will do that to you, Tay" Sharpay smiled. "I can't believe that you're having another boy."

"I know, Chad's in Heaven, three boys…what am I going to do?"

"Well I think that just means that you'll have to try for a girl next time."

"I think that my uterus is closed for business." Both women laughed. "Sadly, it looks like the only girl in my life is my adorable little goddaughter."

"Well if you keep spoiling Ella like you do, she'll be yours for life."

"I'll take her any day, she's precious and you know it."

"Hmm precious and Ella in the same sentence?" Sharpay laughed, "Well she is most of the time, but as she's getting older, she's getting so dramatic."

"One of your children? Dramatic? Nooo," Taylor laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, so I used to have a bit of the flare for the dramatic."

"Used too?"

"Oh eat your damn salad!"

* * *

"Evan, don't hit your little brother," Troy warned his son as he made his way to his front door. "Hey Mom, Dad." Troy greeted both of his parents with hugs before he let them into his home.

"Hi sweetheart," Lucy Bolton greeted her son.

"Hey Troy," Jack smiled as he walked inside.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Evan and Ella beat little Aidan to their grandparents but he was close behind, as he always was. After hugs and kisses were shared all around, Lucy and Jack sat in the living room with the kids while Troy took a quick business call.

"Gwandma," Aidan climbed his way into Lucy's lap.

"Yes sweetie?" Lucy looked lovingly at her little grandson.

"I miss you," Aidan smiled before wrapping his little arms around her neck and squeezing her tight.

"Aw honey, I miss you too," she kissed him several times and hugged him just as tight. "I love you so much; you're Grandma's sweet boy."

"What about me?" Ella asked from her position on the floor where she and Evan had been playing with his Legos.

"You're grandma's annoying little girl," Evan stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"Shut up Evan! You're…"

"Ok, ok," Jack intervened before world war three started which could very well happen when Ella and Evan went at it. "That's enough guys." Jack sat down with the twins and they showed him their fantastic Lego castle which they worked extremely hard on.

A few minutes later, Troy came out of the office, "You guys ready to get some lunch?"

"Yeah!" his three kids plus his father shouted, both Troy and Lucy rolled their eyes.

"You're such a child sometimes Jack," Lucy shook her head at her husband as they walked out the front door.

"Whose car should we take?" Jack questioned as he squinted, blocking the hot summer sun from his eyes.

"Actually I thought we would walk," Troy suggested, he lived in one of the new developments, a townhouse, in downtown Albuquerque. It was smack dab in the middle of the city, right where all the action was. Restaurants, shops, theaters were all within walking distance of his home; it really was a great location.

"That sounds great honey, it's such a beautiful day today too," Lucy remarked, and it really was. The sun was shining but it wasn't too unbearably hot like most New Mexican summer days; this day was in fact perfect.

"You up for walking buddy?" Troy asked Aidan as the kids walked outside.

"Yup Daddy, no stroller, I big boy!" Aidan proclaimed.

"That's right," Troy gave him a high five. Sharpay usually babied Aidan and took him out in the stroller or made him sit in a high chair but Troy thought that Aidan was getting too big for all of that now.

"Let's go, I'm famished," Ella put her hands on her hips for extra emphasis.

"Come on princess," Troy had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, at that very moment his daughter looked and sounded exactly like her mother. He wasn't sure if he was happy or mad, she was so beautiful just like Sharpay not to mention extremely feisty but she was going to forever remind him of what he had lost.

* * *

"Would you lovely ladies care for some dessert?" the waiter asked.

Sharpay and Taylor took one look at each other before nodding their heads, "Yes!"

"Definitely!"

"Here you go," the waiter dropped off a dessert menu for the ladies to share. Since she was pregnant, Taylor definitely didn't pass up an opportunity for dessert. And since Sharpay was well…upset and lonely so often, she didn't pass up dessert either.

Sharpay decided on the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake while Taylor opted for the double chocolate and mousse layer cake. Of course they were going to share. Taylor almost asked for a side of ice cream but decided that might look a little greedy; she didn't want to go overboard.

"I cannot wait until dessert," Sharpay rubbed her hands together in anticipation and grinned. "What this place does with chocolate ought to be illegal."

"Anxious much?"

"Their chocolate is like better than anything, just you wait Taylor!"

"Better than sex?"

"Better than sex," Sharpay nodded.

Taylor raised her eyebrows, "I don't know about that…"

"Well its better than the non existent sex I've been having," Sharpay sighed. "God, I can't even remember the last time I had sex."

"It couldn't have been that long."

"Hello! Troy and I have been separated for almost 6 months and before that we barely touched each other."

"Wow over six months, how do you live?" Taylor questioned, she liked to think that her and Chad had a pretty healthy sex life. They weren't overly active due to the fact that they both had busy jobs and two children which often left them exhausted. But if she wanted it, she got it…she couldn't imagine not having it for six months.

"Chocolate," Sharpay laughed as did Taylor.

* * *

"Ok troops, here we go," Troy opened the door to Bailey's, he let his parents and the twins walk in first. He had Aidan in his arms; the little guy had gotten a little tired of walking. It was Troy's fault; he hadn't anticipated just how long the walk was going to be. It was actually a lot for a three year old, he really should have brought the stroller. Maybe Sharpay had been right, Aidan wasn't ready for all of that walking. Just because a child wants to do something doesn't necessarily mean that they are ready for it; Troy had just wanted to prove Sharpay wrong.

"I'm gonna get the big sundae for dessert," Ella announced to everyone.

"Worry about your lunch first kiddo," Troy placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze.

"How many sir?" the host asked.

"Six please," Jack responded.

"One moment sir."

Jack nodded, "I haven't been here in ages. I think the last time we were here was with you and Shar…" Just paused for a second as he saw his son breathe in deeply, "Sharpay."

"Sharpay!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I get it Mom, we were here with Sharpay, Dad already said it. It's not a big deal, I'm fine," Troy sighed, of course they had been here with Sharpay; it was one of her favorite restaurants. Well one of her favorite non fancy restaurants, Bailey's had such a relaxing atmosphere and they both loved their desserts.

"No honey, Sharpay…she's here," Lucy pointed to the table where she spotted Sharpay and Taylor dining, they were both laughing.

"Mommy's here!" Aidan exclaimed, his eyes brightened at the sight of her.

"Great," Troy mumbled under his breath as Evan and Ella made a beeline to their mother.

"Take me too Daddy," Aidan tugged on the collar of Troy's blue polo shirt.

"Sure thing," Troy put on a smile for the kids sake as he and his parents walked over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for all the great reviews, they mean so much to me. Here's the next update! Sorry if there are any mistakes but its super duper late and I'm dead tired but I wanted to post before I went bed (I've got a very busy day tomorrow). Sorry no drama in this one, there just a few other things that needed to happen first. I absolutely promise that there will be drama in the next one, someone's about to have a little 'accident.' Please read and review! Thanks a bunch guys!**

* * *

"You know…its ok though," Sharpay said, her and Taylor sex's discussion had taken itself to a whole new level. "I'm living vicariously through my brother, Ryan has enough sex to satisfy a small country."

Taylor laughed, "Ryan really is a playboy, and I'm quite surprised actually. When I think back to high school, between you and Ryan, I would have thought you would have been the slut of the family."

"Taylor!" Sharpay threw her napkin at her. "I have never been a slut."

Taylor laughed, "Sorry but that's when we weren't friends and you know there were all those rumors."

"Yes I'm very aware," Sharpay frowned, high school was never really her favorite time period.

"Ok, you are not getting down today, those are the rules. Back to Ryan the manwhore…"

Sharpay giggled, Taylor did always know how to make her feel better. "Who knew that frickin silly hats could garner so much attention?"

"Jealous much?"

"Duh! You should have seen the boy who came sauntering out last night and when I say boy, I mean boy…he was only twenty two but jeez he was built like a brick building…so hard. If only he were straight," Sharpay sighed as Taylor laughed. "I wish I looked good in hats."

"You look good in anything and you know it."

"If I had as many hats as Ryan….there would be a line of young gentlemen callers at my door."

"You're hopeless," Taylor responded.

"No, I'm horny," Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"You know there's more to life than se…" Taylor stopped as she everyone approaching the table.

"Says a woman who has a fabulous se…" Sharpay didn't get to finish her sentence and boy was she relieved when she felt a pair of small arms wrap around her neck. What she was about to say was not appropriate for her six year old.

"Mommy!" Ella exclaimed as she gave Sharpay a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi sweetie, what are you doing here?" Sharpay questioned as she hugged her little girl back, so happy to see her.

"Having lunch Mommy," Ella said as she shook her head at her mother, wasn't it obvious that they were about to eat, that's what you did at restaurants. "Hi Aunt Taylor," Ella made her way to the other side of the table to greet her godmother.

"Hello ladies," Jack greeted Sharpay and Taylor.

"Hi Jack!"

"I hope that we're not interrupting," Lucy smiled.

"Oh no, not at all," Sharpay smiled, she loved her mother in law dearly. Despite the fact that her and Troy were no longer together, she and Lucy still had their weekly mother/daughter phone calls. Lucy loved Sharpay like a daughter and still felt the need to look out for her, as all mothers do.

"Mommy," Aidan squirmed his way down from Troy's arms and hopped onto Sharpay's lap.

"Hi sweetheart," Sharpay gave Aidan a kiss and a hug.

"Sharpay," Troy said casually.

"Troy," Sharpay glanced up briefly acknowledging him.

"Did you buy me anything Mom?" Evan questioned, he had noticed Sharpay and Taylor's shopping bags propped against the window next to their table.

"Evan," Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"What?" Evan shrugged innocently.

"Sir your table is ready," the host approached the Bolton clan, holding several menus in his hands.

"Oh thank you," Jack replied. "We'll see you two later," Jack smiled at Sharpay and Taylor.

"Bye," Sharpay and Taylor said in unison.

"Enjoy your lunch guys," Sharpay said.

"Nooo I wanna stay with Mommy!" Aidan exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Sharpay.

"Aidan," Sharpay kissed his cheek and ran her hand through his sandy blond locks. "Sweetie, you need to eat your lunch."

"Come on buddy," Troy bent down to pick Aidan back up.

"Nooo," Aidan swatted Troy's hand away and leaned further into Sharpay..

"Aidan stop," Sharpay said in a light warning tone. "Don't be mean to Daddy. Now you go with Daddy alright and I'll see you tomorrow, I love you."

"No Mommy no!" Aidan cried onto her shoulder. "I miss you last night, no sleep good."

"Sweetie I missed you too but I know that you're having such a fun time with Daddy and your Grandma and Grandpa," Sharpay rubbed tiny comforting circles across his back. She was trying her hardest to let him go, hoping that if she sounded optimistic he would go. What she really wanted to do was to wrap her arms around him and never let him go.

"Mommy," Aidan wailed, refusing to let go of Sharpay, people were starting to stare at them.

"Troy, let Aidan stay with Sharpay until he's calmed down," Lucy suggested, there was no sense in making Aidan worse which she knew would happen if he was ripped away from his mother.

"Mom," Troy began, this was his time with his kids not Sharpay's. He was going to protest but when he saw how truly upset Aidan was he let it go, he hated seeing him so sad. "That's a good idea."

"We're almost finished," Sharpay replied, thankful that she was able to spend a little bit more time with her little boy. "Just waiting on some dessert so I can bring him over after we're done, how's that?"

"Fine," Troy responded. "Come on guys."

"Bye Mommy," Evan and Ella said as they walked off.

"Bye guys," Sharpay managed to give a wave to her older kids before her hands went back to Aidan. "Sweetie, it's alright," Sharpay kissed Aidan who was beginning to calm down but he was still whimpering.

"Is he alright?" Taylor questioned.

"I've never seen him like this," Sharpay said to her friend, she was extremely worried. Sharpay felt his forehead, "You know what, he feels a little warm. Aidan, sweetie, does your throat still hurt?"

"A wittle bit," Aidan sniffled as he wiped his tears.

"And Daddy took you out when you're not feeling well! I can't believe that he would do that and…" Sharpay's rant began.

"Sharpay," Taylor warned.

"What?"

"A-I-D-A-N," Taylor glanced at the little boy in his mother's arms who was looking very confused.

"Right," Sharpay sighed. "Are you having fun with Daddy?"

Aidan nodded, "Yes we got ice cream yesterday! And stayed up past bedtime."

"You did," Sharpay said through gritted teeth, no wonder Aidan was so cranky too.

"Mommy when we lefted the house yesterday I could not find Mr. Bear," Aidan spoke very seriously to her, this was very important to him.

"But sweetie we packed him in your bag after your nap yesterday, remember," Sharpay replied.

"I forgotted," Aidan responded. "Me and Daddy looked all over for him for a weally long time like two shows of Diego long."

"Wow that's a long time," Sharpay laughed, she could only imagine how much trouble that had caused. Aidan couldn't survive without Mr. Bear so Troy must have had some time looking for him.

"I know," Aidan laughed. "And then we finded him at Daddy's house at bedtime!"

"You did?"

"Yup Mommy," Aidan nodded his head before he snuggled up against her, yawning as he did.

"Are you tired sweetie?" Sharpay questioned.

"A wittle bit," Aidan responded, which was practically his answer to everything. "I walked so much."

"Where did you walk honey?" Sharpay asked.

"To the reserwaunt," Aidan said.

"You walked here?" Sharpay's eyes widened as she calculated the distance between Troy's house and the restaurant. "Daddy didn't bring your stroller?"

"No me a big boy now," Aidan smiled.

"Taylor," Sharpay shot her best friend a look. "I need you to go all doctor on me and give me some relaxation tips before I hit a certain someone."

"Um, ok," Taylor said nervously as she watched her best friend fume, she could have sworn she saw a little smoke come out of Sharpay's ears.

Troy couldn't help but glance across the restaurant, Aidan seemed much happier in the arms of his mother and Troy couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. He understood more than anyone the special bond between mother and child, he thought it was pretty incredible. Sharpay and Aidan definitely had a special relationship and part of it was his fault. Troy wasn't able to spend as much time with Aidan as he did with the twins when they were his age. He had been swamped at work for what had seemed like forever and with the separation from his wife, he didn't see the children every day like he would have liked.

"Troy," Jack repeated.

"Uh what did you say?" Troy questioned as he turned to look at his father, he was so caught up in Sharpay that he hadn't heard what his father had said to him.

"I asked what time the kids' game was tomorrow, your mother and I were going to come out for their first games," Jack replied.

"Oh, Evan's is at 11 and Ella's is at 12," Troy responded, he had signed the kids up for a little summer basketball league. Actually he had only signed up Evan but Ella had been upset that she wasn't included. Troy was thrilled that both of his kids wanted to play basketball.

"Are you guys excited about your first basketball games tomorrow?" Lucy asked her grandchildren who were busying coloring on their placements.

"Yes Grandma," Ella looked up from her pretty picture and smiled, "Daddy got me new shoes last week, they've even got pink on them."

"I can't wait to see them honey," Lucy replied. "How about you Evan?"

"I've been practicing a lot, even at home. Mommy helps us when Aidan's taking a nap," Evan exclaimed.

"Mommy helps you?" Troy asked, he couldn't believe that Sharpay would help them practice, she was less than thrilled when Troy told her about the league.

"All the time," Ella responded mindlessly as she colored in the sun. "She's really excited too but she can't come to the game tomorrow."

"Oh no, how come?" Lucy asked, although she actually knew the reason she wanted her son to hear it. She'd talked to Sharpay about it earlier in the week; Sharpay was feeling very guilty that she was going to miss her children's first basketball game but Lucy promised she would record it.

"It's One Dream's tenth anniversary or something like that, she has to go to a big party," Evan replied.

"It is," Troy couldn't believe that he didn't know that. One Dream Theater was the theater that Sharpay and Ryan started their last semester of college. With major finacial help from their parents (which they had long ago paid back), they were able to get their little theater off of the ground. In college Sharpay realized that she didn't really want to be a big star herself but she still loved the theater. So Sharpay and Ryan decided to make other people's dreams come true, not only did they show high profile shows and national tours of popular Broadway musicals but they also let community shows perform, giving everyone an equal opportunity. The place was always packed and was a major success in Albuquerque. He couldn't believe that it had been opened for ten years. "Wow, ten years."

"Its older than us," Ella replied.

"Yeah you weren't even a thought back then," Troy chuckled.

"What?" Ella asked as she looked at her father curiously.

"Nothing," Troy said quickly.

"After our games tomorrow, we're going to go to the theater for the party. There's going to be a big cake and everything, Mommy's even going to sing with Uncle Ryan," Evan stated as he continued to color.

"She is?" Troy questioned, something else he couldn't believe, Sharpay was going to sing. Apart from the nightly lullaby to the kids and some show tunes in the car and shower, Sharpay hardly ever sang, especially not in public. She had been asked to plenty of times, they constantly wanted her to perform in shows at the theater but she always refused. "I bet she'll be wonderful."

"Yeah Mommy has such a pretty voice," Ella smiled. "I want to sing just like her. I'm going to sing at One Dream when I grow up."

"I will come to every one of your shows princess," Troy bent down and gave her a little kiss, she gave him one of her stunning smiles before going back to her artwork. Troy sighed and took another look at his wife and son, she was sharing a bit of desert with Aidan. He smiled to himself, he knew Sharpay had probably told him 'no' but after seeing his famous puppy dog face, she gave in. He knew because he would have done the same thing. He was still having a hard time believing that One Dream had begun ten years ago, he remembered when Sharpay had told him the idea. They had actually just started dating their senior year of college; Sharpay had actually gone off to the East Coast but transferred to the University of Albuquerque at the beginning of their Junior Year. They were already friends and had been since Senior Year of High School but they ended up spending all their time together and one thing lead to the other and they became more than just friends. Troy was feeling a bit of remorse that he wouldn't be able to celebrate this momentous occasion with her, it had been such a major part of their lives. He remembered when she was trying her hardest to get it off the ground and now they would sell out shows just like that. Since they were apart, both of their lives were still moving, just without the other. And Troy wasn't sure that that he would ever get used to it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the great reviews, you guys all rock! As promised, here's next chapter and the beginning of all the drama about to come! Read and review if you get a chance! Thanks a bunch!**

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"Alright buddy, lets get you back to Daddy," Sharpay gently lifted her son off of her lap and placed him down on the floor.

"Otay Mommy," Aidan took her hand as she stood, he was in a much happier mood after spending time with his mommy. "Bye Taywor," Aidan waved to her.

"Bye Aidan, I'll see you tomorrow honey," Taylor grinned at the little boy, he was so cute but of course he was, Troy and Sharpay had the cutest kids on the planet (apart from her own that is).

"Do you want me to meet you at the car?" Sharpay questioned, she didn't want to drag Taylor with her while she brought Aidan over to Troy.

"Yeah, it'll probably be good if I have a head start," Taylor replied as she stood up slowly and placed a hand on her blossoming belly.

Sharpay giggled, "Alright," she knew exactly how her friend felt, she had definitely mastered the slow pregnant waddle with both of her pregnancies. "I'll see you in a bit," She grabbed her couple of shopping bags and headed over to the Bolton table, not to long ago she would have been sitting with them. Engaging in lively conversation and laughing with all of them, she almost felt jealous to see them all having so much fun without her.

"Mommy, the cheesecake," Aidan wouldn't budge when he noticed the plate not in Sharpay's hands.

"Oh oops," Sharpay let go of Aidan's hand to grab the rest of the cheesecake. Aidan reached his hand out to her once more. "Sweetie, I can't carry the plate and hold your hand at the same time."

"Mommy, I want to hold your hand," Aidan pouted, he had long ago perfected his puppy dog face and it usually worked on his parents, especially his mommy.

"Aidan, either I hold your hand and put the cheesecake back on the table and you don't get to eat it. Or I can hold the cheesecake while you walk next to me," Sharpay knew what option he would choose.

"Otay I walk by you," Aidan smiled, he wasn't stupid, he was a dessert man and there was no way he was giving up on extra dessert.

"That's what I thought," Sharpay laughed as they walked across the restaurant.

"Hi!" Aidan exclaimed when they got to the table.

"Hey buddy!" Troy smiled, happy to see his bright child. "Take a seat," he pulled out the chair on his right for Aidan.

"Thanks," Aidan climbed into the open chair and was surprised to see a plate of chicken fingers and French fries in front of him. "Yummy."

"Um this is for later," Sharpay placed the plate down to the side of Aidan's plate, closer to Troy. "If um Aidan eats all of his lunch, we made a few compromises."

"Yeah sure," Troy nodded back at her.

"Are you leaving now Mommy?" Ella questioned.

Sharpay nodded, "Yeah I've got to head out. Can I have a hug?"

Ella nodded and hopped out of her chair, immediately running into Sharpay's arms. Evan, not to be outdone by his sister, gave his mom a hug and a kiss too. Sharpay bent down so Aidan could give her a hug and a sloppy kiss as well. "I will see you guys tomorrow, be good."

"We always are," Evan grinned.

"Yeah right," both Troy and Sharpay said simultaneously.

Sharpay cleared her throat; it was a little awkward for both her and Troy especially since they had said the same exact thing. "Good luck tomorrow guys, I'm rooting for you."

"Thanks Mommy," Ella replied.

"Well I'll see you all later," Sharpay smiled, it was better to leave now before she started feeling even more attached than she already did.

"Bye sweetheart," Jack smiled like Lucy, he still considered Sharpay to be the daughter that he never had.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Lucy gave Sharpay a knowing, sympathetic look.

"Bye," Sharpay turned to leave but was stopped by a surprising voice.

"Hey Sharpay," Troy called.

"Yes Troy," She turned around, unsure of what he could want.

"I just wanted to say um…good luck tomorrow," Troy gave her a quick smiled. "Oh you hate that, I mean break a leg."

Sharpay smiled, "Thanks Troy," she said briefly before walking out of the restaurant, a smile spreading across her face.

Troy walked into the living room the following morning and saw his three kids all sprawled out on the couch, completely lethargic and mesmerized by the comic stylings of Alvin and The Chipmunks. He couldn't believe that they still showed this, it had been old even when he was a kid.

"Guys, its time to go! Time for your big game!" Troy said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together.

"Yay!" Aidan exclaimed, jumping off the couch. "Lets go!"

Troy laughed, Aidan wasn't even playing but he seemed more excited than his little basketball stars. "Come on guys; get your gym shoes on. Grandma and Grandpa are going to meet us at the park."

"Ok," Evan slumped off the couch and walked over to the front door where all of their shoes were neatly placed.

"What's wrong buddy? Aren't you excited?" Troy questioned, Evan was usually the quietest of all of his three kids but he was still a pretty happy go lucky boy.

"He's nervous Daddy," Ella turned off the T.V. before grabbing her own shoes.

"No I'm not!" Evan protested. "My stomach hurts a little bit that's all, I'm not nervous Ella!"

Troy had a feeling that maybe Evan was a little nervous but just didn't want to admit it in front of his sister; Ella was fearless just like her mother. "Buddy if you're not feeling well you don't have to play, I'm sure that Coach Dan would understand."

"Dad I want to play, basketball's my favorite and its my first game, I can't let my team down," Evan replied as he tied up his laces.

Troy smiled, that was probably the most mature thing that Evan had ever said. He was so proud of his son; he was a great team player and hopefully a rising star in the next generation of basketball players, "If you're sure bud."

"I am Dad," Evan smiled up at his father, seeing the same blue eyes reflected in his.

Once they were all ready, Troy loaded the kids and all of their gear into his SUV. He pulled up just as his parents did and they all greeted each other. Jack and Troy carried a couple of fold up chairs and a small cooler while Evan and Ella each carried their own basketball and of course Lucy carried Aidan. Evan and Ella immediately ran to their coach and teammates while the rest of the Boltons set up shop on the sidelines. Troy got the chairs all set up while Aidan entertained his grandparents with what he thought were some hilariously funny homemade knock knock jokes.

"I hope that you boys won't get too out of control," Lucy glared at her husband and son as she sat down in between the two of them.

"Who us?" Jack questioned as he innocently glanced at his wife.

"Yes you two, they're only six year olds, this is about fun," Lucy reminded her basketball crazed boys.

"We know Mom," Troy replied, he wasn't going to put any pressure on the kids. He really just wanted them to have a good time and to go out and enjoy the game. It wasn't about winning or losing for him, it was about having fun something he wished his dad would have pushed on him when he was a child. He loved his Dad dearly but having him as a coach for so many years had put a strain on their relationship. For the longest time, they were coach and player more than they were father and son and Troy hated that. He wasn't going to push his kids like his father did to him, there were so many times that Troy wanted to give up playing basketball but he knew his father would kill him if he did. He didn't want to ever get to that point with his own kids. "Its just a game, right Dad?"

"Oh yeah just a game," Jack replied as he grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler. "Although I know that my little Boltons are going to kick some serious as..."

"Jack," Lucy hissed, there were other children around.

"Kick some butt," Jack smiled sheepishly as an angry mother glared at him.

The first game went well, Aidan played his hardest and even managed to score the most points for his team. They didn't win but they sure played their butts out on the court. Troy was ever the proud father, he took tons of pictures and cheered his son on. He was so unbelievably proud of his boy. Evan seemed to be having a great time, he really enjoyed playing basketball. He was a little upset that they didn't win but he knew there was always next time. After the game he graciously shook hands with all of the players on the other team.

"You were so good!" Troy gushed as Evan made his way over to them for his water bottle. "Come here!" Troy hugged his son and bent down to give him a kiss.

"Dad…not here," Evan replied, hoping that none of his teammates saw, he did not want anyone to think of him as a baby.

"Oh…oh sorry," Troy grinned, he was a child once himself and he remembered how very uncool it was to get any form of love from your parents. "Seriously Ev, you were so amazing!"

"Really Dad?" Evan questioned as Troy handed him the water bottle.

"Best kid on the court," Troy smiled bright.

"You have to say that you're my dad," Evan rolled his eyes.

"And I'm also a former basketball player, I played from the time I was your age until I graduated college so I know talent when I see it, you've got it!" Troy exclaimed as he gave his son a congratulatory pat on the back.

"I can see it now," Jack interrupted their conversation as he gave his grandson a hug. "You'll be center for the Lakers or maybe the Knicks and…"

"Jack," Lucy rolled her eyes at her husband. "Let him get through first grade at least before you plan his future in the NBA."

"Dad can…can I call Mommy?" Evan questioned, unsure of how his father would react. He didn't really like to talk about his mom in front of his dad and vice versa because he could tell that his parents always got a little sad; he was a very intuitive child.

"Um yeah, is everything alright?" Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Yeah I just want to tell her about the game that's all," Evan replied. "You think she'll be happy that I scored the most?"

"Your mommy will be thrilled," Troy smiled genuinely, he knew that Sharpay would be very happy for their son. She took so much pride in their accomplishments, almost as much as they did. "Here," Troy pressed a button, instantly dialing Sharpay's cell phone. He had never bothered to erase her as his number one speed dial choice.

"Hello? Troy, is something the matter?" Sharpay instantly asked, she barely ever spoke to Troy when he had the kids.

"No Mommy, its me," Evan replied as he walked off to talk to her, Troy smiled as he listened to his son's excited voice.

"Hi honey, are you alright? What's up?"

"Mommy, I scored 6 points in the game!" Evan exclaimed. "I did the best out of the whole team!"

"Oh you did! Congrats honey, I'm so proud of you Evan," Sharpay gushed, she was ecstatic, she had a feeling that Evan would be amazing at basketball just like the two generations of Boltons before him.

"We lost the game."

"That's alright honey, winning isn't everything, you know that. I just want you to have as much fun as you can!"

"It was a lot of fun."

"Good I'm glad," Sharpay replied. "Did Ella play yet?"

"No they're warming up, they're going to play soon," Evan replied. "I wish you were here."

"Oh baby, I wish I was with you too. I promise that I'll be at your next game. Its just that this party has been planned for such a long time, I would have changed it if I could."

"I know Mommy, its alright, the theater is very important to you."

"Yes it is, but nothing is more important to me than you, Ella and Aidan. I love you guys with my whole heart. And I will be at the rest of your games, I promise sweetie. Do I ever break my promises?"

"Not yet," Evan laughed.

"And I don't intend too either," Sharpay responded. "Alright sweetie, I'm sorry but I have to go. I've got to make a little speech and Uncle Ryan's waiting but when you get here I want to hear all about your big game and maybe I'll even let you have two pieces of cake bud."

"Yum Mommy, I can't wait."

"Neither can I, I love you."

"I love you too Mommy," Evan said quietly, hoping that no one could hear him. He walked the short distance back over to his family.

"You done?" Troy questioned.

"Yeah," Evan nodded. "Mommy was really happy for me!" Evan exclaimed. "She wants to hear all about the game later and I get extra cake at the party!"

"Wow," Troy smiled at his son who appeared to be floating on cloud nine.

"She had to go do some talking with Uncle Ryan or something," Evan explained.

"I wanna play at park," Aidan tugged on Troy's khaki shorts.

"Aidan, you're sister's game is about to start, you should watch her like you watched Evan," Troy explained.

"Me bored now, games too long," Aidan pouted.

"Aidan, its only a little bit longer," Troy replied.

"Nooo," Aidan began to whine as his lower lip began to tremble.

"Aidan…" Troy began but Evan cut him off.

"I can take him to the park," Evan suggested.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Troy responded.

"Why not?" Evan asked.

"You guys should really watch Ella, she watched you."

"Daddy she played with Katie for most of the game, they were practicing and stuff," Evan replied. "Please, its not that far."

"Alright, alright," Troy gave in only because Aidan was about to have a tantrum, once again Aidan didn't get enough sleep and was going in and out of mood swings more than Taylor. "Just stay where I can see you."

"Yes!" Evan exclaimed and shot his hand up in excitement. "Come on Aidan," he began to run off.

"Wait for me!" Aidan cried as he toddled after his big brother.

"Evan slow down," Troy called after them, the playground part of the park wasn't that far away from the basketball court but Troy was still a little nervous letting them go over there.

"They're fine," Jack stated, noticing his son's hesitation.

"I know, I know," Troy replied as his father just chuckled. Jack always used to say 'Just you wait until you have kids' when Troy would complain about not being able to do something. Now as a parent, Troy understood what his parents had been talking about. It was hard to let your kids go, even if it was only a couple of feet. You had no idea what could happen and it scared the shit out of him. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his children, they were his life.

"Oh there she goes!" Lucy pointed excitedly as Ella began to dribble the ball.

"Good job Ella!" Jack screamed like a maniac.

Troy just rolled his eyes at his father and gave Ella two thumbs up and a wink as she glanced up at him. She gave him a brief smile before she attempted to dribble some more before passing the ball off to the girl on her right side. Ella's game was going well and her team was actually winning. She was doing pretty good although she hadn't scored as many points as her brother but she seemed to be having a great time. Troy would watch the game for a while before glancing over at the park to check on the boys. It seemed like they had made a new friend on the jungle gym. They had a couple of sticks, no doubt pretend swords; Aidan was into this new pirates phase. Evan being the great big brother that he was would always play with him while Ella wanted nothing to do with pirates. Troy became a little nervous as he saw the other little boy and his son dueling by the slide, his son seemed awfully close to the edge.

"Be careful," Troy said quietly as he looked at the boys. "Careful, careful."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Jack looked over at his son who seemed to have a strange expression on his face.

Troy was about to answer his father when his worst fears came true, the other boy gave his son a blowing shot to the chest and he tumbled over the edge. "Oh god!" Troy shot up from his chair as he watched his son fall from the ten foot tall play structure.

"Meh, meh!" Ryan waved his hand over his face as he continued his favorite vocal exercises.

Sharpay on the other hand was taking sip after sip of water, trying to calm her frantic nerves. She didn't understand why she was so nervous singing in front of a crowd, she'd never had stage fright before. But then again, it had been a while since she had sang in public. The last time she sang was at her grandmother's funeral when she was eight months pregnant with the twins. Ella Elizabeth Bolton was named for Sharpay's grandmother, Eleanor Elizabeth Evans.

"Are you ready sis?" Ryan questioned once he thought he was centered enough.

"Are you? It sounds like you have a cat in your throat."

"Very funny, I just hope you don't piss your pants on stage after all the water you gobbled down."

"Ha-ha and if you haven't noticed, I'm not even wearing pants!" Sharpay pointed to the new red Gucci dress that she had purchased for this very special occasion.

"Come on, Veronica is about to announce us," Ryan began to walk out of the dressing room.

"Ok Sharpay, you can do this," Sharpay calmly told herself as she followed her brother out of the room. Her stomach turned itself into knots as their friend and employee announced their names. The applause made her feel a little better, but still she was as nervous as can be, there were a lot of people at this party.

"You'll do great Shar, break a leg," Ryan placed a little kiss on his sister's forehead before he began to walk up the few steps to the stage.

"You too big brother," Sharpay grinned just as she began to walk, a hand gripped her hand tightly. "What the hel…" Sharpay turned around and saw her mother looking frantic.

Julia Evans took a deep breath before she found the courage to speak, "Sharpay, there's been an accident!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again for all of the great reviews guys, please keep them coming! Here's the next chapter! I'm not the best with medical jargin but I did my best for now. **

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Sharpay and Julia hurried out of the car so Vance could go find a parking spot. Her parents had driven because she had been so frantic and was in no position to drive. Sharpay ran through the emergency room doors with her mother hot on her heels. She was about to run to the front desk when she heard her name being called.

"Mommy!" Aidan screamed from his position in his very uncomfortable hard plastic chair.

Sharpay swung around at the sound of her son's voice and rushed over to him, "What happened?" She demanded to know as she came in contact with Jack and Lucy who were sitting in the waiting room with Ella and Aidan. "Where's Evan?"

"He fell sweetie but he's alright," Lucy stood up and embraced Sharpay.

"He fell?" Sharpay questioned as Jack and Lucy nodded.

"From way high up Mommy," Aidan added. "Lots of icky blood."

"Where is he?" Sharpay asked, she had to make sure for herself that her little boy was alright.

"He's in exam room 4, I'm sure that they'll let you go in," Jack replied.

"I have to see him," Sharpay said quickly before walking out of the waiting room, she really didn't acknowledge anyone as she left because she was so preoccupied with Evan. Sharpay hurried through the huge double doors that led into the actual emergency room. After walking for a moment she finally spotted the small exam room.

"Mommy!" Evan exclaimed as Sharpay walked into the room.

"Oh honey!" Sharpay cried at the sight of her son, his face was covered with small cuts and scratches. Not to mention the stitches on his chin and his arm was in a navy blue sling, cradled against his chest. "Are you alright?" Sharpay rushed to his bed and checked him over before giving him a kiss. She was afraid to give him a hug, she didn't want to hurt his arm.

"I'm ok Mommy but my wrist hurts," Evan replied, he was trying his best to be brave but it really did hurt a lot.

"Is it broken?" Sharpay acknowledged Troy for the first time since she entered the room, he was sitting on Evan's other side and had been reading a book to his son.

"No its just a sprain," Troy replied.

"I got four stitches in my chin," Evan replied, "But that doesn't hurt as much Mommy, I got a cherry popsicle because I didn't cry when they gave them to me."

"Wow," Sharpay forced a smile, she was close to tears and upset that she hadn't been with her baby when he needed her. "You are my brave little boy huh."

"Yeah," Evan replied. "I'm sorry that you had to leave your party."

"Oh honey don't be sorry, you're way more important than some silly party," Sharpay replied as she gently caressed his forehead. "I'm just so happy that you're alright, I was so worried."

"You're always worried Mommy."

"I can't help it, its what Mommies do best," Sharpay replied as she gave him another kiss; she could hear Troy snicker at her comment. "Troy can I talk to you in the hallway for a second?"

"Yeah," Troy replied, a little confused as to why she wanted to talk to him. "We'll be back in a sec buddy, don't go anywhere," Troy joked.

"Daddy I can't," Evan groaned at his father, he was definitely not as funny as he thought he was.

"How could you have let this happened?" Sharpay practically growled at Troy the second they were out of the room and out of ear shot.

"Sharpay I didn't let this happen," Troy replied back, he had a feeling that Sharpay would pick a fight with him, it was what she did best.

"Clearly you did! How did he fall? Why weren't you watching him?" Sharpay bombarded him with questions.

"He was playing with Aidan and some other boy, Evan said that they were playing pirates and the boy accidentally stabbed him and he fell backwards," Troy explained as Sharpay's eyes widened.

"Someone stabbed my son!"

"Sharpay they were playing with sticks," Troy replied. "Not knives."

"Sticks on the playground? Troy, don't you know how dangerous that is," Sharpay went on.

"They were just goofing around."

"Well its not all fun and games when someone gets hurt!" Sharpay hissed at Troy, she was so angry at him. "I can't believe that you weren't watching them! And you should have been watching Aidan, he's too little to play like that!"

"Sharpay, I'm not going to get into this with you right now."

"Because you know I'm right and you can't stand it when I'm right," Sharpay stated as she put her hands on her hips.

"No it's because you're being a bitch and I can't stand it when you act like this," Troy glared at her.

"You are such an asswhole," Sharpay screamed and was about to walk back into her son's room when another voice stopped her.

"Mrs. Bolton I presume," the older gentleman extended his hand to hers. "I'm Dr. Tisron, I took care of your son."

"Yes hi, I'm Sharpay Bolton," Sharpay replied quickly, embarrassed that the doctor had probably heard her fight with Troy. "Evan's going to be alright?"

"Yeah his wrist should heal up nicely if he keeps the sling on for a couple of days and keeps it elevated. He should take it easy for a couple of weeks and he should be able to get his stitches out in about three weeks," Dr. Tisron explained to both Troy and Sharpay.

"Great, thank you," Sharpay said appreciatively. "When can I take him home?"

"Very shortly but first , I'd actually like to talk to you and your husband for a minute in my office," Dr. Tisron stated.

Sharpay glanced at Troy nervously before nodding her head at the doctor, "Um alright."

Troy went out to the waiting room where Vance Evans had joined everyone, they were all anxious to see how Evan was doing. Troy told them that he was fine and then he borrowed his mother for a minute. He asked her to sit with Evan while him and Sharpay talked to the doctor. Without hesitation Lucy agreed to do it, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her son or grandchildren. After Lucy went to Evan's room, Sharpay and Troy followed Dr. Tisron to his second floor office. They both sat down quite nervously across from the doctor, both wondering what was wrong.

"Is everything alright Dr. Tisron, I thought you said that Evan was fine," Sharpay was the first to speak.

"His wrist and his chin will be fine in no time, no permanent scarring or anything but that's not what I'd like to talk to you about," Dr. Tisron said seriously. "When I was examining Evan, I noticed that his arm was swollen and that there were several bruises that were not caused by the fall. Do you have any idea how they got there?"

"Hey doc, if you're insinuating that my wife or myself has hurt our son, you've got another thing…" Troy began as his body became filled with anger, the nerve of this quack suggesting something like that. He would never lay a hand on Evan and Sharpay wouldn't either. He stood up, practically ready to pounce on the doctor in front of them.

"Troy," Sharpay grabbed his hand, pulling him back down to his seat. She was praying that Troy wasn't about to hit their son's doctor or anything stupid like that.

"Oh no Mr. Bolton, my apologies that's not what I meant at all," Dr. Tisron apologized. "Forgive me for being so blunt."

"I…I'm sorry, its just…" Troy didn't know what to say.

"It's alright really, it's my fault," Dr. Tisron began.

"Is there something wrong with Evan?" Sharpay asked nervously, there was obviously a reason that the doctor asked to speak with them in private and she had a feeling that it couldn't have been good.

"I don't want to alarm you, most of the time there's nothing to worry about," Dr. Tisron went on.

"Worry about what?" Troy questioned, suddenly he was feeling rather nauseous.

"Swelling and bruises may be signs of leukemia," Dr. Tisron said slowly, it was never easy to tell a parent that their child may be sick.

"Oh my god," Sharpay breathed in and held onto her chair for balance. "Evan has cancer."

"Mrs. Bolton we need to run a few tests but like I said more times than not do these turn out to be false alarms. Has Evan been ill lately?"

"Um…um," Sharpay stuttered, not quite sure what to say, her mind was drawing a blank.

"He had a stomach ache this morning," Troy replied, he was just as scared as Sharpay but somehow he managed to find his voice. "He had his first basketball game today so I thought that it was just nerves."

"He had a stomachache last week too," Sharpay finally spoke up. "And he had a fever a couple of weeks ago."

"I'd like to do some blood tests before you leave today," Dr. Tisron stated. "We'll be able to get the results back to you in a few days."

"Ok," Troy replied.

"Again, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, I don't want you to be alarmed, this is just a precaution."

"And what exactly will the tests determine? That he has cancer or that he doesn't?" Sharpay asked.

"If his white blood count is very high than we definitely know something is wrong and it may or may not be cancer. We'll have to do more conclusive tests like a biopsy to determine if Evan if fact does have leukemia. I'd refer you to a hematologist or an oncologist if it turns out that's case."

* * *

"Finally!" Evan let out a huge sigh as his parents walked back into the room. "Can I go home yet? I'm really hungry!"

"In a little bit okay kiddo," Troy forced a smile for the sake of his son, he couldn't let him see that anything was wrong.

"Home come I can't go now?" Evan questioned. "Mommy can you take me home?"

"In about ten minutes, I promise," Sharpay, too forced a smile, so she wouldn't burst into tears. "Your doctor just wants to see you one more time, he'll be right in."

"Is everything alright?" Lucy questioned from the chair that she was currently occupying next to her grandson's bed. Something definitely wasn't right, she could tell that both Troy and Sharpay were upset and she had a feeling that it wasn't due to their usual bickering.

"Yeah everything's great Mom," Troy said to his mother. "We'll meet you in the waiting room; there are too many people in here...hospital rules you know"

"Right," Lucy stood up quickly. "I'll see you in a bit Evan," she kissed her grandson before apprehensively walking out of the room.

Just as Lucy was walking out of the exam room, Dr. Tisron entered the room. He had promised Troy and Sharpay that he would take the blood instead of a regular nurse. They thought Evan might feel more comfortable with him considering he had stitched him up and put his arm in a splint.

"Hello Evan," Dr. Tisron greeted his young patient.

"Hi Dr. Tisron," Evan replied, not wanting to be rude but he was a little concerned considering the doctor had some fort of needle and vial in his hand. "What's that for?"

"I need to take a little blood," Dr. Tisron explained to the boy.

"From me?" Evan questioned, his big blue eyes widening.

Dr. Tisron nodded, "You'll just feel a little pinch, not too bad at all. There's another cherry popsicle with your name on it, some stickers too."

"Mommy?" Evan looked up nervously at his mother.

"It's alright honey," Sharpay sat on the edge of the bed. "Want to hold my hand?"

Evan nodded and reached out for Sharpay, she placed a loving kiss on his forehead before squeezing his hand. "Ok, I'm ready."

Dr. Tisron nodded and washed his hands at the sink before sterilizing the needle. "Just a little pinch now," Dr. Tisron pulled up a stool and put on gloves. "Are you ready?"

"Uh huh," Evan closed his eyes and squeezed Sharpay's hands.

"It's alright buddy," Troy replied, he was standing next to the bed.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" Dr. Tisron smiled at the young boy after he finished collecting the sample that he needed.

"Its over?" Evan opened one eye first.

"Yes it's over and I'll have Nurse Amy send over another cherry popsicle if that's alright with your mom and dad, two popsicles in one day is a lot," Dr. Tisron winked.

"Its fine," Sharpay smiled as she continued to hold Evan's hand, he had squeezed her hand hard but he was such a brave little boy.

"Remember to take care of that wrist of yours Evan," Dr. Tisron stood up with his sample.

"I will," Evan replied.

"I'll um walk you out," Troy followed the doctor out of the room.  
"The lab will you call you in a couple of days," Dr. Tisron told Troy, he knew exactly why the young father followed him out.

"Ok thank you," Troy extended his hand for the doctor to take. "Again, I'm sorry about earlier."

"I would have done the same thing," Dr. Tisron replied.

After Evan finished his frozen treat, they were ready to go. He was greeted in the waiting room by a blue balloon and a new toy car, courtesy of the gift shop and his two grandmothers. Troy drove the kids and Sharpay back to her house; Troy had the car seats in his car and Sharpay didn't want to leave Evan so her only option was Troy. Once they got home, Troy put Aidan down for a much needed nap while Sharpay made a very late lunch. Evan was set up nicely in the family room, complete with extra pillows and his favorite movie. Ella kept him company even though she hated the movie but she wanted to be nice since he was hurt. It wasn't long before both sets of grandparents barged their way through the house. Troy was walking down the second set of stairs into the kitchen just as Jack, Lucy, Vance and Julia trudged into the room.

"What's going on?" Julia immediately asked.

Sharpay turned around from the stove and looked at the confused faces of the four parents, "What do you mean Mom?" She wasn't sure what so say, her and Troy hadn't even had the chance to really talk about everything that was going on.

"Why did you have to speak to the doctor in private?" Vance questioned as he stood besides his wife, he'd known that something was wrong with his daughter ever since they were ready to leave the E.R.

"Evan said he got another popsicle because he gave blood without crying," Lucy added.

"So again, what is going on?" Jack asked, they were all extremely worried.

Sharpay glanced back at Troy who was walking a little closer to the group. Troy nodded at her, knowing that she wanted him to speak. Her looks conveyed so much and by now he knew all of them, especially this frightened one.

"The doctor just wanted to run a few blood tests," Troy stated simply.

"Why? You don't need blood tests for a fall Troy," Lucy looked shaken. "Tell us please."

Troy felt bad as he looked from his mother, to his mother in law, to his wife. Sharpay was still his wife, they weren't divorced yet, and she seemed to be shrinking in front of his very eyes. This was scary, quite scary for them all. "He um…they want to check to see if…if he has leukemia."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thanks for all the great reviews guys! I meant to get this posted a few days ago but I had such a busy weekend. Here's the next chapter, sorry that it's a little short. I hope to get another posted soon, I've already started writing it. Thanks for reading and please review!_**

* * *

"Can I get you anything?" Taylor asked Sharpay as she sat down next to her on the couch, she had just come from checking on the kids. Her son, Jake, and Aidan were in the family room watching a movie and eating popcorn.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? This is my house and you're pregnant," Sharpay replied as she sunk back further into the cushions, clutching the cordless phone in her hands.

"That doesn't matter," Taylor pried Sharpay's hands away from the phone and placed it on the coffee table. "This is about you right now."

Sharpay shook her head, "This isn't about me, this is about Evan. God, why haven't they called yet."

"Sweetie its only 1 o' clock," Taylor reasoned with her. "It's still early."

"They said they would call early afternoon! Its early afternoon!"

"Ok, lets take your mind off of the phone call for a little bit, you're about to drive yourself crazy."

"Ok," Sharpay conceded, knowing that this was one fight she probably wouldn't win. Taylor was awfully persistent, especially now that she was filled with raging hormones.

"Um…ok, my crazy husband wants to name this baby Sebastian. I told him that his child by his next wife could be named Sebastian but not the one in my uterus that I have to carry for nine months." Sharpay forced a smile at her friend before she glanced at the phone. "So this isn't' working huh?"

"Not at all, I'm sorry," Sharpay sighed. "It's all I've been able to think about for the past couple of days. Ryan came over for dinner last night and I poured his wine into Aidan's sippy cup. He didn't drink it but it just shows you how preoccupied I've been."

"And with good reason Sharpay, but I'm sure that everything is fine."

Sharpay shook her head, "Evan had stomach pains again this morning."

"Shar, all kids get tummy aches," Taylor was trying to comfort her best friend and she was doing a horrible job. The fact that she was a psychologist but couldn't help her best friend was making her feel terrible. The problem was that this hit so close to home for her, Sharpay's kids were like her kids too. They all used to do everything together, movies, dinner, parties, even vacations…you name it and the Bolton and Danforth families did it together. Here she was trying to comfort Sharpay but what she needed was a little comfort as well.

"Not like this Tay, I almost kept him home from camp."

"You know what I'm getting hungry; it's been like an hour since my last meal. Let's see what you've got in that great big kitchen of yours."

"No, no don't get up, its bad enough that you went to check on the kids. I'll fix you a snack, are you still having your peanut butter craving?"

Taylor nodded, "But I'm coming with you, I'll get bored without you and this way I can eat something else while you fix my snack."

"You really are a pregnant lady," Sharpay laughed for the first time since her friend had arrived. "Let's go Prego!" Sharpay stood up and watched as her friend inched her way off of the couch, she definitely didn't miss those days. Sharpay loved being pregnant but not being able to get up was not her favorite part especially when she was pregnant with the twins.

"Watch the name calling Blondie," Taylor snickered as she finally made it up. "I have never been this big before…at least not so early on."

"You're not that big and it's not so early on, you're nearing you're seventh month."

"Sharpay don't be nice, be your usual self and speak the truth. I'm huge and you know it!"

"Maybe its twins!"

"Kill me now," Taylor muttered under her breath.

"Twin boys just for you!" Sharpay laughed as they began to walk out of the living room. "Ooo no I see it now, trip…" The shrill ringing of the phone cut Sharpay off. Sharpay looked from Taylor to the coffee table before she absolutely froze in place.

"Sharpay the phone," Taylor nudged her friend.

"I…I can't," Sharpay had to take several deep breaths.

"Ok," Taylor hurried to the couch as fast as her stomach would allow. "Hello Bolton residence….yes she's available, one minute." Taylor brought the phone over to phone. "Shar, sweetie, it'll be fine."

Sharpay nodded as she reached for the phone, "Hello…Yes, this is Mrs. Bolton…"

Troy motioned for Chad to come into his office, he was finishing up a conference call in New York, "Great Mike, lets make it happen….You too, alright…Bye." Troy hung up his phone. "Hey Man," he greeted his friend and business partner.

"Hi," Chad sat in one of the expensive leather chairs in front of Troy's desk, he had the same ones in his office.

"That's not a good 'hi,'" Troy gulped, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Taylor called," Chad replied, not sure how to say this. He had never been the best with words so he figured he might as well just come out and say it. "They need to do the biopsy."

"Shit," Troy cradled his head in his hands as a million thoughts raced through his head. He'd been holding out hope that everything was going to be fine, that Evan was going to be fine. This whole thing must have been a nightmare, these sort of things…cancer…they happened to other peoples families, not his. "Damnit!" Troy yelled as he knocked over a mug and several files off his desk.

"Troy," Chad didn't know what to do; he couldn't stand to see his best friend hurting so much.

"Sorry," Troy apologized for his little outburst, feeling rather embarrassed as he surveyed the mess around him.

"Hey man, don't apologize. You should get out of here, you shouldn't be here."

"We've got that big call at 3," Troy replied, he had come into work today to get his mind off of everything. He couldn't just sit and wait by the phone, he would have gone mad.

"No I've got a call at 3, you're going home," Chad said. "Your family needs you Troy, Sharpay's really upset."

"Sharpay doesn't want me," Troy said bitterly. "She'd probably bite my head off if I went to the house."

"That's not true," Taylor had alluded to the fact that Sharpay still loved Troy and he knew that Troy still loved Sharpay, why they were getting a divorce was beyond Chad. He knew things had been bumpy but if there was anyone who was meant to be together it was Troy and Sharpay, they really completed each other. Without one another, they were both miserable and Chad and Taylor were left to pick up the pieces. If they didn't get through this together, than Chad knew they wouldn't get through this at all. "She tried calling but you must have been on the phone, she's really upset."

"Fine," Troy turned off his computer. "We need to talk anyway; I guess we've got to figure out what to do now."

"I'll call you later, I'm so sorry Troy."

Troy nodded as he grabbed his briefcase, "Thanks."

It didn't take long for Troy to get to the house, he and Chad had strategically located their office so it was close to both of their homes. But now this was no longer Troy's home and he wasn't sure if he should knock or just go right in. He still had a key but usually he would knock when he came to get the kids on the weekend but this was a whole different situation. Just as he was about to knock, the door swung open.

"I saw you pull in."

"Thanks Taylor," Troy replied as he walked into the house. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs, I finally got her to rest."

"I'm glad that you were here…when the call came, I didn't want her to be alone."

"She's never alone and neither are you, Chad and I are here for you guys, whatever you need," Taylor pulled her friend into a hug as best she could with her bulging belly in the way.

"Thanks Tay, I think I needed that. Your husband isn't as good with the hugs."

Taylor laughed, "I'm still training him."

"Daddy!" Aidan ran into the foyer, excited to see his father.

"Hey buddy!" Troy met him half way and picked his son up.

"What ya doing here? Don't you work?" Aidan questioned.

"Yeah I left work a little bit early; I wanted to talk to Mommy for a little bit."

"Daddy, Mommy's really sad like she got a bad owies or something," Aidan told his father. "You should take care of her."

"I'm going to try buddy," Troy gave Aidan a quick kiss before setting him back down on the ground.

"Good, can you make me and Jakie a snack?" Aidan questioned.

"You guys are hungry again?" Taylor questioned. "You just had popcorn."

"A lot of it falled on the floor," Aidan replied.

"Oh brother, I'll make you guys something alright. Troy you go see Sharpay," Taylor took hold of the little boy's hand before leading him down the long hallway.

Troy nodded before running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He walked into the master bedroom that they once used to share; he was surprised to see that it looked the exact same way. He thought for sure Sharpay would redecorate erasing any trace of him. However that wasn't the case, nothing had been touched or moved, except one thing was missing: Sharpay. She wasn't in the bedroom or the ensuite bathroom. Troy had a feeling of where she could be, he walked down the hall and heard the slight sounds of what sounded like sniffling.

"Hi," Troy stood in the doorway of Evan's bedroom watching Sharpay clutch one of Evan's baby photos in one hand and in the other, a teddy bear, one that used to be Evan's favorite but now the boy claimed he was too old for stuffed animals.

Sharpay looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying, "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Troy took a spot on the bed.

"Don't joke Troy."

"Well you know why I'm here."

"Did Chad tell you?" Sharpay questioned, her voice sounded so small, like a scared little child.

Troy nodded, "I'm so sorry I missed your call but I was in a conference."

"I'm kind of glad; I didn't know how to tell you. They want to do the biopsy as soon as possible."

"Ok, so we do the biopsy," Troy sighed. "When?"

"Um, tomorrow they're going to a birthday party so I figured Thursday," Sharpay sniffled. "I want him to have a little fun before…before his world gets turned upside down."

"Sharpay we don't even know if he…"

"No," Sharpay cut him off. "He's sick! There's obviously something wrong Troy! If it's not leukemia than it's some other blood disease. No matter what, our little boy is not alright!"

"Hey, hey," Troy tried to calm her down, wrapping an arm around her petit shoulders.

"Why is this happening to us?" Sharpay managed to cry out in between a fresh batch of tears.

"I don't know, I don't know," Troy said solemnly as he felt a tear roll down his own cheek. He pulled Sharpay closer as she continued to cry.

"Ho…how are we supposed to tell him that he's sick?"

"We'll figure it out," Troy kissed her long blond hair, inhaling the sweet scent of lavender and vanilla. "Everything is going to be alright, trust me."


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks for all the great reviews guys! I meant to get this up earlier but my internet was on the fritz this weekend. Sorry this chapter is just a filler, I'll have some more 'exciting' stuff the next chapter. But please read and review. Thanks a bunch!_

* * *

"I've got dinner," Chad announced as he walked into the kitchen. Sharpay, Troy, and Taylor all looked up surprised to see him. "It's the least I can do."

"Thanks Chad," Sharpay forced a smile before taking a sip of her tea.

"I've got fine Italian cuisine," Chad placed a big paper bag and box of pizza on the marble countertop.

"Where are the kids?" Taylor asked her husband.

"Hosing off in the backyard," Chad chuckled. "Guess camp was rough today, I figured you didn't want them tracking mud in the house Sharpay."

Sharpay shrugged before sipping her tea again. Mud seemed kind of insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Before she probably would have yelled at the kids for getting mud on her hardwood floors but that hardly seemed like a problem now. Hell she'd take a million pounds of mud all over house over having her son sick.

"I'll get some plates," Troy grabbed his empty mug of coffee and placed it in the sink before grabbing five child friendly plates, covered in Disney characters of course. After placing the kids' plates on the table, he grabbed four regular plates for the adults.

"Ok, we've got pizza, half cheese for the kids and half pepperoni and mushrooms. Also fettuccini and ravioli plus some salad. Who wants what?" Chad questioned, he was prepared to serve everybody. He didn't want his best friends to lift a finger right now; he wasn't so good with the emotions so he knew he had to help them out in other ways.

"I'll have some of everything," Taylor replied as her mouth practically watered over the food.

"Should have expected that," Chad muttered.

"What was that honey?" Taylor questioned as she glared at her husband.

"Nothing baby," Chad smiled nervously. "How about you Sharpay?"

"Actually I'm not very hungry," Sharpay stood up slowly; eating just didn't seem right at the moment. "I think I'm going to lay down for a little bit."

"Alright, we'll make sure Tay leaves you some," Chad smirked.

"Thanks," Sharpay let out a small chuckle as she headed up the stairs. Troy looked on sadly as she left; he wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her and comfort her.

"Chadwick Ronald Danforth, you are so not funny," Taylor shot her husband a death glare.

"I was just trying to make Sharpay feel a little bit better, honestly," Chad replied.

"Well next time can you not do it at my expense?"

"Sure honey," Chad chuckled as the sliding back door slid open.

"Daddy!" Ella was the first to spot her father, who was placing pizza slices on the kids' plates (so much for Chad doing all of the work).

"Hey princess," Troy gave his daughter a hug and a kiss.

"What are you doing here?" Ella questioned as she hopped up on the stool in front of the island. "Are we going to your house tonight?"

"Nope," Troy replied as Evan ran over to him. "Hey buddy," Troy hugged him close, afraid to let his son go. He looked so happy and innocent, his brown eyes shining and his mouth curved into a huge smile. Troy couldn't believe that in a matter of days, his son would practically lose his innocence. "How are you?"

"Fine Dad," Evan took the spot next to his sister.

"Hey Uncle Troy," Ben Danforth greeted his uncle while taking a spot next to his best friend, Evan.

"Hey Ben, what's up?" Troy asked, he placed plates in front of the three kids.

"Not much, Evan and I got into a water fight at camp today but the counselor yelled at us because Evan's arm is all messed up," Ben grinned at his friend.

"It was awesome though!" Evan added before taking a bite of his pizza, noticing his father still looking at him. He had a feeling that he was going to get in trouble; he knew for sure that his mother would have yelled at him. "I was careful dad, honest, my wrist doesn't hurt that much."

"Chad, can you get Aidan and Jake?" Taylor asked her husband. "They're playing trucks upstairs."

"Nope," Chad replied as he started fixing a plate for his wife.

"And why not?" Taylor questioned, her eyes glaring at her husband.

"Because they're right there," Chad laughed as the two boys jumped the last steps onto the kitchen floor.

"Be careful guys," Taylor said to the two little rambunctious boys.

"Pizza yummy!" Aidan smiled when he saw his dinner, Mommy was supposed to make something else but he would much rather have pizza.

"Come sit down guys," Taylor motioned to the table where she was currently sitting at.

"How come we no sit there?" Jake pointed to the island where the three older kids sat.

"Because there are no longer any seats," Chad replied as he grabbed the two little plates that Troy had prepared. "Go sit down by Mommy Jake," Chad walked behind the two little boys and placed their plates on the table.

"Dad can we have pop too?" Evan questioned, he knew it was a long shot but he just had to try it.

"Sure why not," Troy smiled at his son before opening the refrigerator door.

"Yes!" Evan and Ben high fived, they hardly ever got to drink pop at dinner, it was always milk or water.

"Not too much," Taylor warned.

"Daddy, you never answered me before," Ella said in between pizza bites. "How come you're here? And where's Mommy?"

"Mommy's still sad," Aidan announced before he dug into his pizza.

"Mommy's sad, how come?" Ella asked, hoping that nothing was wrong with her mom.

"Yeah, she looked like she was gonna cry when she told us to eat dinner in my room," Aidan replied. "Daddy you gotta make her feel better again."

"Why's Mommy crying?" Ella looked up to her father for answers.

"Did you have another fight?" Evan asked, he loved his dad dearly but he hated it when he made their mom cry which in the past year had happened an awful lot. Like most little boys, he hated to see his mother cry. He would do anything for her.

"No we didn't have a fight," Troy responded as Taylor and Chad exchanged worried looks. "Mommy's having a rough day that's all, she's not feeling too well."

"Well what's wrong with her? Is she sick?" Evan questioned.

Troy felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, "No, Mommy's not sick," he said slowly and calmly, for his own sake.

"Hey guys," Chad cut in, knowing that Troy was having a hard time. "So I was thinking maybe we can go see that new Transformer movie on Saturday."

"Yeah!" Evan, Ben, Aidan, and Jake all shouted.

"Eww," Ella snickered at the thought of seeing that ridiculous boy movie, it was so not her style.

Taylor smiled, "Maybe me, you and your mom can see something else Ella or go shopping."

"Ok Aunt Taylor," Ella grinned, knowing that she would automatically get a present from her dear aunt. "Is that okay Daddy? Aren't we going to your house again?"

"Yeah," Troy nodded as he handed each of the kids a cup of sprite. "I know you don't want to see that movie, I'll just drop you off here on Saturday or something. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Ella nodded excitedly.

"Hello," Ryan sauntered into the kitchen; he had his own key and often used it frequently especially since Troy moved out. As the protective older brother, Ryan made it his duty to check on his sister and her kids. They needed a new man around the house and Ryan tried his best to fulfill the position. "Ok, how come I wasn't invited to this party?" He asked after seeing everyone chomping down.

"Oh hey Ry," Troy greeted his friend and brother in law, or rather, soon to be ex-brother in law.

"Uncle Ryan!" The Bolton kids exclaimed upon seeing their favorite and only uncle.

"What's up kiddos?" Ryan smiled at his nephews and niece.

"Pizza's up, want some?" Aidan asked.

"Don't mind if I do," Ryan walked over to Chad and Troy who were now fixing their own plates and of course Chad was still making one for his very pregnant wife.

"Take Sharpay's plate," Chad handed him the extra plate.

"Where is Sharpay?" Ryan questioned, noticing for the first time that his sister wasn't in the kitchen. He was beyond positive that Sharpay wouldn't just leave her friends and Troy in her house without being there.

"She's laying down for a little bit," Troy locked eyes with Ryan and instantly Ryan knew not to say another word for the kids' sake.

"Well glad I stopped by, I'm starving," he grabbed a couple of pieces of pizza. Him, Troy and Chad all sat down at the big table with Taylor, Aidan and Jake. All through out dinner, the kids told jokes that they had heard at camp. Aidan and Jake chimed in with their own homemade jokes which the big kids thought were incredibly stupid. It was hard for Troy to enjoy dinner but he acted happy, at least to the best of his ability. He didn't want to bring anyone down, especially the children. They already seemed a bit suspicious and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. So instead he laughed at their jokes and listened intently to their tales, all the while he was crumbling inside.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Here's a nice great big update for you guys! Thanks so much for all of the awesome reviews, Chapter 8 wasn't even that great but you guys reviewed so much. Please keep them coming! Next chapter is going to be huged, stay tuned for it sometime this weekend! Thanks so much for reading!_**

* * *

"She's still sleeping," Ryan announced about an hour after diner, as he walked down the staircase and into the foyer.

"I'll call her tomorrow, give her a little bit of space for tonight," Taylor said as she and Chad got ready to leave.

"Thanks for everything guys, I really appreciate it," Troy said to his friends.

"If you need anything, just give us a call," Taylor replied sincerely.

"Day or night man," Chad added. "We're here for you." Troy nodded at his best friend.

"Boys! Its time to go!" Taylor's loud voice reverberated through the downstairs of the Bolton home. In an instant the Danforth boys came running, they knew that their mom meant business when she yelled like that.

"Bye Uncle Troy, Bye Uncle Ryan," Ben and Jake waved goodbye to their uncles before leaving the house with their parents.

Troy shut the door after his friends left and leaned against it, letting out a loud sigh.

"You ok?" Ryan asked, concerned for Troy.

Troy nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. Is Sharpay really asleep or is she pulling an ' I don't want to see anyone' thing?"

"I'm not really sure but I think that she might be really sleeping. Which I tend to think that she is, I feel like she'd want to be with Evan right now."

"Yeah, but she's also avoiding this," Troy sighed dejectedly. As upset as he was, his family came first, including Sharpay and he was really worried about her. Sharpay always faced things head on, she never hid from anything.

"This is hard for her," Ryan defended his sister, Sharpay used to be a drama queen…ok well she was still a bit of a drama queen but she was a damn good mother and her kids came first always, end of discussion. She wasn't bailing on her son, she just needed a bit of time to comprehend and understand the situation.

"Well this is hard for me too," Troy shot back at Ryan.

"I know, I didn't mean it like that. I…"

"Its fine, look I'm going to get the kids ready for bed," Troy replied as he pushed himself away from the door.

"I can do that, you can head on home," Ryan suggested, he was just trying to help out.

"No, I need to put them to bed." It was something that Troy had to do, as a father, he needed to spend as much waking time with his kids as he could, especially now given the situation.

Ryan nodded, "I understand. I'm going to head out, I've got to stop by One Dream for a bit. If Sharpay wakes up, tell her I stopped by."

"Will do," Troy replied.

"I'm here for you too man," Ryan said to his friend. "Sharpay's my sister but we're friends too and have been for a long time, don't forget it."

Troy smiled, "I haven't Ryan."

"Good," Ryan hugged his friend and soon to be ex-brother in law. "He's going to be fine, I just know it."

After Ryan left, Troy pried the kids away from the T.V. show they were watching and walked them all upstairs. Aidan had just turned three at the beginning of the summer and still needed some help at bedtime. So Troy helped Aidan brush his teeth and put on his pajamas while Evan and Ella did it by themselves. As they liked to remind him, they were old enough that they didn't need any real help. The twins usually stayed up a little later than Aidan but they all read a book together before Aidan went to sleep. Troy helped Aidan pick a nighttime book, although it took forever since the little guy was rather indecisive.

Evan quietly opened the door to his mother's bedroom. Sharpay turned around at the sound of the slight noise, she had just woken up from a little nap. How she managed to fall asleep was beyond her. She had practically cried herself to sleep and was now feeling extremely guilty for not spending the evening with her kids. They always ate dinner together and played a game or watched a little bit of T.V. before bedtime.

"Mommy?" Evan questioned as he stood nervously in the doorway.

"Hi Evan," Sharpay smiled at her little boy.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course you can sweetie, you know that."

Evan smiled before he ran into the huge master bedroom. He climbed up on the bed and sat laid down next to his mother. "Are you okay Mommy, Aidan said you were crying?"

Sharpay smiled, it was just like Evan to be so thoughtful and worrisome. "I'm fine sweetie." And right now that was actually true because her little boy was there, right in front of her and that was all that mattered.

"Did Daddy upset you? You can tell me," Evan looked his mother in the eyes, the same big brown eyes that he possessed.

"No Daddy didn't do anything," Sharpay admitted and it pained her that that was the first thing that came to her six year old son's mind. He shouldn't have to worry about his parents fighting and most importantly he shouldn't have to worry about being sick.

"Then what's wrong?" Evan asked, even though she said she was fine, he could still tell that she was deeply upset.

"Sweetie, I'm fine, don't worry Ev."

"You're lying Mommy, and you always say that keeping secrets and lying is wrong."

Of course he would take her advice to heart now, "I just didn't feel very well today, that's all." It was a half truth, but truth none the less. She had been anxious all day and as soon as the news hit, she turned miserable. "Where are your brother and sister?" Sharpay asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know where Ella is but Aidan's getting ready for bed with Daddy."

"Your daddy's still here?" Sharpay was surprised that Troy was still here.

Evan nodded, "Yeah but Uncle Ryan went home."

"Uncle Ryan was here?" Man, had she missed a lot.

"Yeah he came when we ate dinner," Evan explained to his mother. "He left after Uncle Chad and Aunt Taylor and then Daddy made us get ready for bed but we weren't done watching our show!"

Sharpay chuckled, "Sorry buddy."

"Where's Evan?" Sharpay could hear her daughter's loud voice in the hallway followed by loud footsteps.

"Shh! Ella, your mother's sleeping," Troy said quietly but Evan and Sharpay could still hear him in the bedroom.

"No she's not!" Evan yelled out for them as Sharpay cringed from her son's voice in her ears.

"Mommy!" This time Aidan screamed her name right before running into the bedroom, quickly followed by Ella and Troy.

"Sorry," Troy said as he walked into the bedroom, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of Evan and Sharpay snuggled in bed, they were clearly having a mother son moment.

"Its ok," Sharpay replied as Ella and Aidan got into the California king sized bed.

"Are you um feeling better?" Troy questioned as he stood awkwardly by the bed, the one that he had shared with her for eight years. The one that had taken her almost a month to chose, which caused them to sleep on the mattress on the floor for the first month of their marriage. But he couldn't complain because sleeping on the floor would have been fine with him as long as Sharpay was wrapped snug in his strong arms.

"Yeah," Sharpay nodded. "Thanks."

"Mommy read me to bed pwease," Aidan handed Sharpay the two books he had picked out, he had conned Troy into two since he couldn't decide.

"Sure sweetie," Sharpay took the books from her little boy and opened the first one, which happened to be one of her favorites, _Goodnight Moon_.

"Twanks Mommy," Aidan climbed over Evan so he could get closer to his mother.

"Ow Aidan," Evan glared at his little brother as his knee dug into his leg as the little boy moved.

"I'm going to head out," Troy stated, feeling a little left out of their bedtime routine. It wasn't so long ago that he would read the kids to sleep and then snuggle up into the ultra comfortable bed with his wife.

"No Daddy you stay and read me too!" Aidan protested, he wanted his mommy to read one book and his daddy to read the other.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, I should probably do some more work at home," Troy replied, although he would give anything to stay and spend more time with all of them.

"Oh please Daddy will you stay," Ella pleaded as she gave him her best puppy dog face, looking quite impressively like her mother.

"Troy, it's alright," Sharpay told him, she just wanted the kids to be happy. They'd had a rough day and she and Troy still needed to talk after the kids went to bed.

"Are you sure?" Troy questioned, not wanting to overstep her but he was dying to crawl into bed with them, just like old times. He longed to be a real family again and this was probably one of the last moments, he could pretend that they were.

"She's sure," Ella responded for her mother. "Get in Daddy," Ella instructed her father.

"Alright," Troy grinned before taking off his shoes and sliding into the bed on the other side of his little girl.

Once they were all snuggled in, Sharpay sat up a tad bit so she could read the book, "In the great green room…"

The next morning Sharpay opened her eyes as the bright sun shone through the windows. It was practically blinding so she had to roll away from it. She gasped when she saw all of the figures in her bed. She was used to having the kids in the bed, especially since Troy had left but what was most surprising was that Troy was at the end of the bed too. Why the hell was Troy in her bed? Sharpay groaned as she climbed out of bed and slowly walked over to the other side. She gently shook a sleeping Troy; she almost felt bad for waking him, he looked so peaceful.

"Troy," she whispered as she began to shake him a little harder.

"Hmm five more minutes honey," Troy mumbled in his sleep.

Sharpay's eyes widened when he called her honey, he hadn't called her that in a while. "Troy," she shook him again.

"Pay pay, baby, let me sleep," Troy rolled over with a grunt and pulled up the comforter to his chin.

Sharpay let out a little giggle, he was awfully cute in his unconscious state. She decided to give up her pursuit of waking Troy up, he probably needed the sleep. The last couple of times that she had seen him, he looked so run down. Realizing that she was still in her clothes from yesterday, Sharpay came to the quick conclusion that a shower was most definitely needed. Hopefully she would have enough time, it was already seven o'clock and the kids would be up soon. Quickly, she hopped in the shower before she could be interrupted. After Sharpay's refreshing shower, Sharpay grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped it around her wet body. Unfortunately she was going to have to walk back into the bedroom so she could get to her closet. She wasn't thinking, she meant to grab something to wear before. Sharpay walked out of the bathroom, shocked to see Troy making the bed and the children gone.

Troy glanced up at the sound of the door swinging open. He gulped once he caught a vision of Sharpay; he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was standing there clad only in a light green towel, water droplets glistening on her skin. She looked amazing, absolutely incredible. It was taking all of Troy's willpower not to run over to her and violently rip the towel off of her naked body, push her onto the big bed and take her right then and there. Troy shook his head of such thoughts because sadly that was not an option for him.

"Hi," Troy finally spoke.

"Hi," Sharpay self consciously wrapped the towel around her tighter and held it up with her hands. "Where are the kids?"

"Downstairs, I told them they could watch a little T.V. before I made breakfast."

Sharpay nodded, "Um…what are you doing here? Why didn't you go home last night?"

"I guess I must have fallen asleep after the books," Troy replied. "I guess it's all kind of fuzzy," he lied. Troy knew exactly what had happened. After Sharpay finished reading her book, it was his turn. Once he was finished, Ella convinced him to get one more so he worked on one of the twin's little chapter books. It wasn't long before everyone had fallen asleep, everyone but him. As he watched his family sleep, he just couldn't leave. So instead he laid in the bed with them until sleep overtook him.

"Ok…well…I'm just gong to get dressed," Sharpay scurried into her walk in closet.

"I'll um head downstairs and start breakfast," Troy called out to her.

"You don't have to do that," Sharpay stuck her head out of the closet door quickly.

"I want too," Troy replied, a sudden smile overtaking him.

"Thanks," Sharpay ducked back in and shut the door as she combed through her extensive closet, looking for something casual to wear. She picked out a pair of Bermuda shorts and a simple light blue empire waisted tank top. Although nothing was simple about Sharpay's clothes, although they were quite casual and perfect for the hot New Mexican summer, they were still designer threads and cost a pretty penny. She put on a touch of makeup and blow dried her hair, a luxury that she didn't always have in the morning. Once she was finished, she headed downstairs and into the kitchen where the kids were waiting patiently while Troy flipped pancakes.

"Hi Mommy," Aidan greeted his mother as she walked down the back stairs that led into the kitchen.

"Morning guys," Sharpay smiled at the sight of her excited children, they had always loved watching Troy work his 'magic.' Troy wasn't the best in the kitchen but he sure knew how to make a mean batch of pancakes thanks to her wonderfully gifted mother in law. When they were first married, they would spend their weekends making love, sleeping in late, and eating pancakes…oh what a life.

"Alright guys, the first batch is done," Troy smiled at his kids. "Who wants pancakes?" Shouts of 'me' and 'I do' came from the three children. Once Troy set them all up with a couple of pancakes, he poured several cups of milk. He also cut Aidan's pieces much to his little boy's dismay. Apparently he didn't cut them big enough the way Mommy did.

"I don't want this," Aidan pouted as he looked at his food.

"Yes you do, you loved Daddy's pancakes," Sharpay replied as Aidan pushed his plate away. "Those pancakes are perfectly fine buddy, you either eat them or you don't eat anything at all. Do you understand Aidan?"

Troy was amazed that Aidan nodded his head obediently and began eating with his favorite Superman fork. If Troy would have said that to Aidan, no doubt there would have been a tantrum of some sort. But super mommy, Sharpay, steps in to the rescue and all is right with the world. She definitely had the magic touch. He smiled as Aidan offered Sharpay a piece of syrup covered mangled pancake. She graciously ate the piece as Aidan held his fork to her mouth.

"Sharpay, how about some pancakes?" Troy questioned, there were plenty more and he knew that she had to be starving. She didn't eat dinner last night and from what Taylor told him, she'd barely eaten lunch yesterday in her very nervous state.

"Um sure," Sharpay replied as she began to stand up to grab her food.

"Sit, I've got it," Troy stopped her as he reached into one of the dark cherry wood cabinets and grabbed her a plate.

"But," Sharpay began.

"Seriously, I've got it, sit down," Troy insisted.

"Fine," Sharpay gave up, it would be extremely pointless to have an argument over whether or not she could get her own food. It wasn't so long ago when she loved Troy making her plate or doing the laundry, it meant that she could sit and relax. And he did it because he loved her and wanted to see her smile. Oh my how she missed those days. Sometimes she would even sit on his lap and they would take turns feeding one another, Chad and Taylor used to make such fun of them but the Boltons deduced that their friends were just jealous of their relationship and uber hot sex life (well Troy thought of that last one by himself).

Troy made up a plate for Sharpay and then one for himself. He joined the kids and Sharpay at the table and they all ate together. Troy couldn't even remember the last time something like this had happened but he enjoyed every minute of it. He forgot how lively the kids were and how engaging they were with Sharpay. He had missed this so much and his heart ached knowing that it would never be like this again. Once breakfast was over, Sharpay got the kids ready for their day while Troy did the breakfast dishes much to Sharpay's surprise. He bid his kids goodbye with loving hugs and kisses, he had to go home and shower himself. However, he was coming back to talk to Evan later in the afternoon. They really should have told him earlier but they wanted him to enjoy his friend's birthday party. Evan was the worrywart of the family and he would dwell on the news all day. He was so wise beyond his years, so intelligent for only being six years old. He was the smartest kid in his kindergarten class, the teacher had told them on numerous occasions. Sharpay just wanted him to have one last day of pure childhood bliss, it was only fair before they broke the news to him.


	10. Chapter 10

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"Mr. Bolton," a valet greeted Troy as he pulled up to the Lava Springs Country Club.

"Hi Eric," Troy greeted the high schooler as he stepped out of his Yukon Denali. He remembered Eric from last summer; he was a good kid and a great addition at the club. "How's the jump shot?"

"Good sir," Eric smiled as Troy handed him his keys, he looked up to Troy who had been a legend at East High. So it was always special for him to actually talk to Troy.

"Good to know," Troy replied. "Let me know if you need any help, I know that you're looking at U of A."

"Yes sir," Eric replied. "I'm hoping to get a basketball scholarship."

After talking to Eric for a few more minutes about the love of the game, Troy went off in search of his kids. He had volunteered to pick up the kids from their birthday party. When they got back home, him and Sharpay were going to talk to Evan about what was going on. Troy had been feeling nervous all day and was dreading telling his son but he knew that it had to be done. They'd already wasted too much time.

"Mr. Bolton, good afternoon."

"Fulton," Troy greeted the older man as he walked inside the club. My how far he had come, it really wasn't so long ago when the older man basically treated him and his friends like dirt. Now Fulton practically worshipped the ground that Troy walked on, which was how he treated all members of the club, especially the Evans family.

"Can I get you anything Mr. Bolton? How about a round of golf? There's always…" Fulton went on before Troy interrupted him.

"I'm just here to pick up my kids, I'm not staying," Troy stated. "Do you know where the Jackson birthday party is?"

"Actually sir, its over. The party ended abruptly when the birthday boy vomited all over the cake, not very pretty."

Troy frowned, "Well where are the kids? Why didn't someone call us? I could have picked them up earlier."

"Your family is here," Fulton explained. "Out by the pool."

"Thanks," Troy responded before walking off, he really didn't have the time or the energy to talk pleasantries with Fulton. He walked through the lobby before heading outside. He instantly spotted Evan and Ella both talking a mile a minute to their grandmothers. They spotted him too and he couldn't help but grin at the wide smiles gracing their little faces. Troy jogged over to them once they started waving like maniacs. He was greeted with hugs and kisses from his children and both of the mothers in his life.

"Hi Daddy," Ella kept her arms wrapped around his waist as she looked up at him.

"Hi Troy," both his mother and Julia smiled at him. They were both at Lava Springs, planning Julia and Vance's 35th Wedding anniversary. It was going to be the event of the summer, even bigger than the Talent Show and 4th of July Carnival Extraordinaires.

"Hello beautiful ladies," Troy grinned at the older woman and of course his mother rolled her eyes but Julia winked just like she always did.

"Where's Mom, she supposed to pick us up?" Evan questioned, he was always a little suspicious whenever change was involved. Their daily lives were so routined that it was almost a little shock when something was different.

"She's at home," Troy explained. "Aidan's still taking a nap so I volunteered to pick up my favorite twins in the whole wide world."

"Oh Daddy," Ella giggled at her father.

"Didn't you go to work?" Evan questioned.

Troy nodded, "For a little bit but my afternoon meeting was cancelled so Uncle Chad and I headed out early. So are you two ready to go home?" Troy questioned.

Ella nodded, "Yeah, the party ended so early because…"

"Because Adam barfed his pizza all over the Birthday cake!" Evan exclaimed. "It was awesome!"

"Hey! I was gonna tell Daddy," Ella was fuming and she let her brother know it by punching him in the arm.

"Ella," Troy scolded her. "You do not hit your…" Troy stopped as soon as he saw a bruise quickly appear on his son's shoulder. He had never seen anything like it. "You do not hit your brother ever, do you understand?" Troy finished yelling at her.

"Sorry Daddy," Ella bit her lip nervously, it wasn't often that she got yelled at and it made her quite sad.

Troy hadn't meant to take his anger out on Ella but as soon as he saw the bruise appear, a nasty feeling hit the bottom of his stomach. There was no denying it now, his son was sick and it was beyond obvious.

"Troy," Lucy stepped in, she and Julia had both noticed the bruise and instantly became worried. They knew that today was the day that Troy and Sharpay were going to talk to Evan. Ever since they found out that their grandson might have leukemia, they had been worried sick but neither of their kids wanted to discuss it with them, not until they were certain. So to take their minds off of everything they began to get a head start on the party. "Its alright."

"I'm sorry Ella, you just need to be careful because of your brother's wrist," Troy lied, the kids fought all the time and he never reacted as strongly. Normally he was telling the boys to leave Ella alone because you never hit a girl; he wanted his boys to respect women.

Ella nodded sadly, still upset that he had yelled at her. She bit her lip nervously, just like her mother and sadly looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet the eyes of her father.

"We should go, we don't want to keep your mom waiting," Troy said, knowing that he couldn't put off the conversation any longer. The grandmas hugged the twins and Troy, each whispering encouraging and supportive words about what was to come.

The ride home was definitely a quiet one, tension filled the car and Troy couldn't help but feel guilty. Once he pulled into the driveway, both of the kids bolted from his car and ran to the front door. Ella pressed the doorbell about a thousand times waiting for her mother to answer and let her in. Evan waited patiently behind his sister as Troy took his time getting out of the car.

"Where's the fire?" Sharpay asked the kids as she swung open the door.

"Ella's mad," Evan explained as he entered the house behind his sister.

"What's wrong baby?" Sharpay bent down to her daughter, seeing for the first time that she was clearly upset.

"Daddy yelled at me," Ella sniffled as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "Daddy never yells at me and he didn't even say he was sorry."

"Yes he did Ella, don't lie," Evan added as he opened up his goodie bag, he thought that candy would be an excellent idea right about now.

"Evan," Sharpay caught him sneaking a piece from his little bag.

"Please?" Evan looked at his mother, surprised that she had seen him. It must really be true…mothers have eyes in the back of their heads.

"One piece alright," Sharpay caved.

"Me too," Ella pulled away from her mother, she was still upset but candy would no doubt make it a little better.

"Hey," Troy walked inside the house and shut the door behind him.

"Hi," Sharpay looked up at him before standing up. "Are you ready?" She mouthed to him, while the kids were busy eating their candy.

"Yeah," Troy whispered back, nodding his head.

"Hey Ella, Maggie called and wanted you to come over. I told her that you would after the party," Sharpay told her daughter.

"Ok!" Ella's eyes lit up, Maggie was her best friend…well on their block anyway "Can I go now?"

Sharpay nodded, "Yes you can. Be careful," Sharpay added as Ella made a beeline for the door.

"Mom, she just lives across the street," Ella rolled her eyes, they lived in a small cul-de-sac in a pretty elite neighborhood for goodness sake; she hated when her mother told her to be careful.

"Humor me," Sharpay grinned as Ella waved goodbye and ran outside. Sharpay watched her run down their long driveway. Her heart fluttered for a moment when it looked like her little girl wasn't about to look both ways but she did and Sharpay was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Can I see if Brennan is home?" Evan asked his mother, if Ella got to play with someone than he should too.

"Actually Ev, can you stay with us for a little bit?" Sharpay bit her lip nervously.

"Do I have too?" Evan asked as he looked at both of his parents, pleading with his brown eyes to leave the house. He knew Aidan was still sleeping for the simple fact that he wasn't attached to Sharpay or screaming around the house.

"Its kind of important, we want to talk to you for a little bit," Troy replied, wondering if he should have left out the word important. He didn't want to scare his son.

"Um ok," Evan replied, wondering what was going on with his parents. Its not like he didn't know that they were getting a divorce, they'd all talked about it at the beginning of the summer.

"If you want to play with Brennan when we're finished, you can ok," Sharpay smiled at him and he nodded. "Are you hungry? I made cupcakes."

"You did?" Evan questioned, as excited as he was, he was a tad bit skeptical. His mother rarely let them have sweets, especially not after he just had two pieces of candy.

Sharpay nodded, "Uncle Ryan wanted to bring some to One Dream for Jake's birthday," Sharpay lied. She had made the cupcakes for Evan, they were his favorite. She knew it was almost like a little bribe or something but she didn't want him to get too upset. Plus baking or cooking of some sort, always eased her nerves and she was having one hell of a stressful day. "How about you get a cupcake and then we can talk?"

"Ok, I guess," Evan replied before racing off to the kitchen, he didn't have to be told twice.

Sharpay was about to follow her son when Troy's hand gripped her shoulder. "What?" she turned and faced him.

"How long do we have?" Troy questioned.

Sharpay instantly knew what he was talking about, "He's only been sleeping for twenty minutes so we should have at least an hour." Sharpay replied in reference to Aidan, he was starting to outgrow his naps but luckily for them he was exhausted today and went down without a fight.

Troy nodded, "We can do this, everything's going to be fine. We're going to get through this together"

Sharpay forced a smile before walking away; she was trying desperately not to cry in front of him. Not that he would have cared, he'd probably seen her cry about a thousand times, no joke. It wasn't that she was embarrassed about crying, she just didn't want to explain the real reason for the on set of tears. It was him, they weren't together therefore they wouldn't be going through this together. She was alone with the kids everyday and she didn't how she could face this by herself. Sure, she had friends and family but what she really needed, was a husband by her side offering her daily love and support.

Sharpay walked to the kitchen, with Troy following behind her. They found Evan eyeing the cupcakes. He was very precise in picking the perfect cupcake, there had to be just the right amount of chocolate frosting and sprinkles…that was the only way to go. Sharpay poured Evan a glass of milk while he still debated on his cupcake. Once he finally made a choice, they ventured into the family room. Evan sat down in the middle of the couch while Troy and Sharpay sat on either side of him.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Evan asked, he could tell how worried both of his parents were and it was a little scary. "Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?"

"No sweetie, you haven't done anything wrong," Sharpay reassured him by giving his good arm a gentle squeeze. "Honey, you have done absolutely nothing wrong, remember that ok. Troy…"

"Hey buddy, remember when you fell last weekend," Troy stated cautiously, hoping that was the right way to begin the conversation.

"Yeah," Evan said, duh, it was only a couple of days ago, of course he remembered it.

"Remember when Dr. Tisron needed to take your blood right before we went home," Troy went on, not sure what to say. But from what he heard, it was best to be as honest as possible when talking to children about major illnesses. "They need to check your blood one more time but they need to do a biopsy this time."

Evan narrowed his eyes, quite confused, he had never heard of that word but he had a feeling that he wasn't going to like it. "What's that?"

"A biopsy, honey, is when the doctor gets some more blood all the way from your bones," Sharpay spoke up.

"From my bones?" Evan looked horrified. "Do they have to cut out my bones?"

"Oh no, no," Sharpay ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his back gently. "Everything is done with a needle like Dr. Tisron used, only this time. He's going to take the blood from around your hip," she pointed to Evan's hip.

"Is it going to hurt?" Evan asked, he really didn't like needles one bit.

"A little pinch honey," Sharpay went on. "But they're going to give you some medicine so you won't really be able to feel it."

"Ok," Evan sighed as he looked to both of his parents for answers. They had explained this biopsy test….but they hadn't told him why. "But how come they need to do this? I thought my wrist was fine."

"It is," Troy joined the conversation again. "Your wrist is healing up very nicely. The doctor is just worried because you've had lots of tummy aches and fevers lately."

"Everybody gets those things! Is there something wrong with me?" Evan asked frightened.

"We don't know yet, there's a possibility that you might be a little sick buddy," Troy answered honestly despite the death glare that Sharpay was sending his way. He just couldn't lie to him, there was obviously something wrong, whether or not it was leukemia remained to be seen. Evan was going to find out sooner or later that there was something wrong with him, it was better to tell him now.

"But…but when you're sick, you take medicine and feel better?" Evan asked, that's what always happened to him, Ella and Aidan.

"You might have to take a very special medicine," Sharpay explained. "But lets not talk about that right now, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Tomorrow you're going to have your biopsy at the outpatient medical center."

"Tomorrow? That's really soon!" Evan frowned, he wasn't sure that he was ready for needles so soon. He could still feel a little bit of pain every once in a while from where Dr. Tisron stuck him.

"Yeah sweetie tomorrow but Daddy and I will both be there. I can even be in the room if you want me too, we can hold hands just like before," Sharpay squeezed Evan's hand.

"Ok, I want you there Mommy," Evan answered rather truthfully, the kids in his class would probably make fun of him for wanting to hold his mommy's hand but his mommy really did make it all feel better.

"We're going to leave pretty early in the morning buddy," Troy added. "We'll probably have to wait around for a little bit but we can bring some toys. When you actually have the biopsy, it will only last for about ten minutes, that's not very long. And you can't have any breakfast but as soon as you're finished, you can eat a little something. We can also get you great big lunch too."

Evan nodded, food was the least of his worries right now. "I have to do this?"

"Yeah you do," Sharpay and Troy both answered sympathetically.

"But like Mommy said, we're going to be with you the whole time. You aren't ever going to be alone," Troy bent down and hugged his son. Evan closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his father, holding on for dear life. "I love you so much buddy."

"I love you too Daddy," Evan replied.

"Ok my turn, Mommy always needs lots of loving, you know that," Sharpay grinned at Evan as he pulled away from Troy. He smiled at her before she reached down for a hug and a kiss. "I love you so much Ev."

"I love you too Mommy," Evan squeezed her extra tight, holding on for dear life once again. Mommy's hugs were also extra special and seemed to make everything better. He hoped that this would be no different because he had a pretty bad feeling about all of this…he didn't want to be sick.

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**_Thanks for all of the great replies guys! I hope you liked this chapter, I wasn't too happy with it but it needed to be written. I'm not sure how realistic the conversation was between Troy, Sharpay and Evan but I'm hoping it got the job done. The next chapter will be Evan's actual biopsy so stay tuned. Sorry I didn't post this yesterday but I had a busy day! Please read and review! Thanks!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry that its been like a decade since my last chapter. Things have just been really crazy and to top it off my laptop stopped working so I've been using a 'replacement' that is not the best. But finally I was able to finish this chapter although I've had two pages of it forever, I think I hit a little writer's block. This is a much longer chapter than I usualy post so hopefully this will make up for my absence. Thanks for reading and please take a second to review! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything (sadly)!**

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It was six o clock in the morning when the shrill sound of Sharpay's alarm woke her from her dreams. With a loud groan, she turned the damn thing off and forced herself to open her eyes. There was definitely no time for snoozing, she had to shower and get dressed before she woke up Evan. Troy was going to pick them up around 7; she said that they could meet at the clinic but Troy insisted on driving. Ryan was coming over to watch Ella and Aidan for the morning; hopefully he would actually show up on time. She would kill him if he came late which was usually his style but he knew how important this was so Sharpay had a feeling that he wouldn't let her down. She had thought about getting a babysitter but she didn't want to have to explain the situation to her.

Sharpay dragged herself out of her warm and cozy bed and into the bathroom for a hot and steamy shower. Once she was finished, she threw on a pair of khaki capris, a pink fitted t-shirt and a jean jacket. She didn't bother to blow dry her hair or put on makeup, there wasn't really time and she really didn't care. Sharpay went into Evan's room and attempted to wake him up. It was quite the chore since Evan wasn't that much of a morning person; it was always a battle to get the little boy up for school. Evan was practically comatose as she pulled him into the bathroom to brush his teeth. She grabbed a pair of khaki shorts for him and solid blue polo shirt while he went to the bathroom. She had to drag him back out to the bedroom and actually help him put his clothes on.

"I know you're tired buddy, but we've got to get dressed," Sharpay sighed as she lifted up his arms to put on his shirt.

"Need some help," Troy appeared in the doorway of Evan's bedroom, looking surprisingly fresh faced unlike Sharpay.

"You're early," was the first thing that came to mind when Sharpay saw Troy.

"Hope you don't mind that I let myself in," Troy replied. "Ryan's here too, we pulled up at the exact same time. He's fixing himself some cereal and probably drinking the white chocolate mocha I got for you. It looks like he hasn't even been to sleep"

"You got me coffee?" Sharpay questioned, that sounded perfect right now. She was so exhausted; she had barely slept a wink last night. Her thoughts were on Evan the whole night.

"I can get him dressed; you go on down and save your cup from Ryan."

"Alright," Sharpay smiled.

"I'll bring him down in a few and then we can go."

"K," Sharpay handed Troy the clothes she had picked out before heading out of the room. Troy took Sharpay's place on Evan's bed and took over the challenging task of getting the half asleep boy dressed.

Sharpay made her way downstairs and into her kitchen, "Step away from my venti white chocolate mocha if you value your life Evans!"

Ryan groaned and placed the hot beverage back on the counter, "Chill out Bolton."

Sharpay rolled her eyes but she still took her cup and took a long sip, "Mmmm yum."

"Tired?" Ryan questioned as he took a bite of his cereal.

Sharpay nodded, "Utterly exhausted. I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Ryan sighed.

"Yes but you see the difference is that I was alone and you were rolling around in bed with someone."

"I was not," Sharpay glared at him. "Ok so I went out for drinks and met a handsome young fellow but nothing happened. I was just trying to get my mind off of everything. I was even home before midnight but I stayed up in the studio, I was working on some new music."

"You were working on music?" Sharpay questioned, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.

Ryan shrugged, "Just working on a couple of songs."

"As in writing songs? Since when do you do that?"

"I don't know, it just kind of came to me. But enough about that, where's the damn coffee? You always have coffee brewing, you and Troy live on coffee."

"First of all Troy doesn't live here," Sharpay snickered at him as she corrected him, something she took great pleasure in. "And I've had a lot on my mind, I didn't get around to it this morning. This is my first time downstairs since I woke up. Besides you know where everything is, make yourself useful."

"Can't I just go back to sleep?" He felt like he was about to fall into his cereal bowl.

"You could but the kids will be up by 7:30, you'll only get about forty five minutes if that."

"Argh," Ryan groaned and Sharpay rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her coffee. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as Troy gets Evan dressed," Sharpay responded sadly.

"You okay?"

"Not really," Sharpay sighed, she could always tell Ryan the truth.

"Aww Sharpie, come to Ry-ry," Ryan extended his arms to his 'little' sister and as much as Sharpay hated that nickname she hugged her brother anyway. "He's going to be alright."

"How do you know?" Sharpay muffled into brother's shoulder as she tried not to cry, she had been doing so well. She knew that if too many tears were shed, she'd have a full on breakdown but she needed to be strong for her son.

"I made a little promise with the big man upstairs. I told him I'd give up all my show tunes if my nephew was alright…ok and maybe one night stands. I said I'd be good just for Evan."

Sharpay let out a loud giggle, "Oh Ryan…no words, no words."

"Love you."

"Love you too," Sharpay gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her cup once again, she couldn't let the delightful treat get cold.

"We're all set," Troy carried a semi-sleeping Evan down the stairs into the kitchen. Sharpay was impressed, Troy worked faster than she ever could.

"Ok," Sharpay took a deep breath. "Let's go then."

"Good luck guys," Ryan said sincerely to his sister and brother in law.

"Thanks," Troy responded as he shifted Evan in his arms.

"Come on," Sharpay urged Troy. "We don't want to be late."

The car ride was extremely awkward as Troy drove, Sharpay stared out the window and Evan continued to sleep in the back seat. Both Troy and Sharpay felt like the ride to the medical center took forever. They were both lost in their own thoughts and most of them of were not positive. Both were rather apprehensive and anxious about their son's procedure but they were both trying to hide their fears from their son.

"Hey bud, wake up," Troy opened the door to where Evan was still snoozing in his car seat.

"Hmm," Evan muttered as Troy unbuckled him and picked him again. Troy was surprised that Evan was still sleeping, but he had a feeling that like the rest of them Evan didn't get too much sleep that past night. Knowing Evan, he let worry overtake him.

Despite the fact that Troy was holding his son, he held the door open for Sharpay who was carrying her purse and Evan's little back that he always carried. But since Troy was ever the gentleman, it was no problem to hold the door despite the added weight.

"Thanks," Sharpay replied as they began their walk down the long hallway.

"You're welcome," Troy said back as he shifted Evan in his arms, trying to get a better hold on him. The sleeping boy was beginning to feel a little bit like dead weight.

"Umm," Evan mumbled as he felt himself being moved. "Daddy?" he questioned after opening his eyes and not recognizing his surroundings.

"I'm right here buddy," Troy kissed Evan's forehead and held him tighter. "You alright?"

Evan nodded against him and wrapped his arms around Troy's neck. "Mommy?"

"I'm here sweetie," Sharpay rubbed his back gently and smiled as he turned his neck to face her.

"Hi," Evan said quietly as he placed his head down on Troy's shoulder, looking at Sharpay.

"Hi to you too," Sharpay almost giggled. "You still sleepy honey?"

"A little bit," Evan admitted, he really didn't get that much sleep last night. He was on the verge of joining his mom in bed but finally fell asleep on his own.

Sharpay nodded, "I'm sorry you had to get up so early but this was the only time we could schedule you an appointment."

"Its ok Mommy, I'm fine," Evan tried to reassure her.

"Maybe you can take a nap with Aidan later," Sharpay suggested.

Evan looked from his mother to his father; Evan and Troy shared a laugh. "No way Mom, I'm too big for naps right Dad?"

"Right," Troy smiled.

"Gee what was I thinking," Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh here we are," she noticed the out-patient surgery sign. They were about to make there way over to the front desk to sign in when Sharpay noticed a familiar Jimmy Choo sitting on one of the couches, crouching behind a newspaper. Only she wasn't alone, she was sitting among three other newspaper clad people. Sharpay cleared her throat and hit Troy in the back to get his attention.

"Ow…Jesus chri…Sharpay why'd you…" Troy stopped when he saw her pointing towards the couches. He immediately rolled his eyes as he noticed their two sets of parents trying to their best to blend in. "They're certainly persistent."

"No kidding," Sharpay placed her hands on her hips in annoyance, they had specifically told their parents not to come. "Hey buddy why don't you go sit with your grandparents while Daddy and I check in, it's going to take a few minutes."

Evan lifted his head, he didn't see his grandparents. "Where are they?"

"Right there behind the newspapers," Troy carefully put him down. "Feel free to surprise attack them."

"Here honey," Sharpay handed him his backpack.

"Thanks," Evan replied as he began to sneak up on his grandparents. Sharpay and Troy watched, both with their arms folded across their chest. Evan approached his grandpa Jack, he knew that he would be an easy target. Evan poked his newspaper, causing the older man to let out a little yelp and drop his paper. "I got ya!" Evan laughed.

"You sure did bud," Jack laughed, only to be met with a disapproving look from his son and daughter in law.

"Well it took you long enough, we've been waiting forever," Vance Evans put down his newspaper as did Julia and Lucy.

Sharpay rolled her eyes dramatically and turned around to walk to the front desk with Troy following her, neither saying a word to their parents.

"Just give her your best puppy dog face and she won't be mad at you anymore," Evan laughed as he sat down between his two grandmothers. "Works all the time."

"Good to know," Vance chuckled. "How you doing buddy?"

Evan shrugged, "Ok," the little boy replied as he watched his parents filling out a bunch of paperwork.

"You know sweetheart, it's alright to be scared," Julie said as she wrapped an arm around him.

"I know," Evan sucked in. "Do you think it will hurt?"

"Maybe for a little bit honey, but you'll get some medicine to make it feel better," Lucy answered.

"We'll all be waiting for you and we've got a little something for you afterward," Jack smiled at his grandson.

"You do?" that certainly sparked Evan's interest.

"Yes we do," Vance confirmed.

"What is it?" Evan asked excitedly.

"Nice try kiddo," Lucy laughed.

"Shucks," Evan opened up his backpack and pulled out a book that Sharpay had packed him. He was going to start first grade in the fall but was already reading almost on a second grade level.

A few minutes later, Sharpay and Troy joined the group, ready to take Evan into his own little private pre-op room. The grandparents all gave Evan a hug and a kiss before he held both of his parents' hands and was led away by his parents. A nurse showed them to the room and gave Evan the standard hospital gown, much to his dismay. She told them that the doctor was prepping for the procedure and that it would probably be another half an hour until the actual procedure began. The anesthesiologist was going to come by and administer a local anesthetic before the procedure.

"Do I have to wear this dress?" Evan asked as he frowned at the light blue hospital gown.

"It's not a dress," Sharpay replied. "And yes you do, everyone does."

"Where are the pants?" Evan asked.

"There are no pants," Troy told Evan, the little boy's mouth dropped open. "Just put it on, no one else is going to see you alright."

"Fine," muttered. "Don't tell anyone that I put on a dress!"

"My lips are sealed," Troy closed his mouth and tossed away the 'key."

"Mom?" Evan looked at Sharpay.

"Promise honey, this doesn't leave this room," Sharpay smiled, happy to see the old Evan back.

Once Evan finished changing and Sharpay put his clothing into the little provided closet in the corner, Evan climbed into the small bed while his parents took seats opposite of him.

"Want to turn on the T.V.?" Troy asked his son, trying to lighten the mood. "I bet there's cartoons on."

Evan shrugged, "It's usually the baby cartoons on so early in the morning but whatever."

"Do you want to read?" Sharpay asked, trying to think of something else.

"No not really, we can watch T.V.," Evan replied, he did think it was kind of cool to control the T.V. from the built in remote on the hospital bed. "Cool," he smiled to himself as he pressed the power button.

It wasn't long before the anesthesiologist came in; he suggested that Evan go the bathroom because it would be a long time before he would be able to do so. Evan took him up on his suggestion before coming back for the local anesthetic. He had to lie on his stomach and hold still while he squeezed his mother's hand tightly. The doctor administered the anesthetic around Evan's hip closer to his back.

"It's alright honey," Sharpay reassured him as his grip on her got tighter.

"Its almost over Evan," the doctor stated as he finished numbing Evan's hip. "There, not too bad," he threw away the used needle and his gloves.

"Uh huh," Evan replied.

"Can you feel this?" the doctor questioned as he tapped on the spot where he had administered the anesthesia.

"No," Evan shook his head, amazed and yet freaked out at the same time that he couldn't really feel a part of his body.

"Good, then my job here is done. It shouldn't be long now until they come for you." Troy and Sharpay each thanked the anesthesiologist before he left the room.

Evan kept poking his side trying to see if he could feel something, anything.

"Evan, don't do that," Sharpay frowned at him.

"Why not?" he looked up at her.

Sharpay was just about to respond with the classic "Because I said so" when there was another knock at the door. The original nurse who brought them to the room, popped her head back in.

"Ok Evan, the doctor's ready for you," she smiled.

"Ok," Evan gulped.

"Its ok buddy, Mom and I will be with you the whole time," Troy rubbed his son's shoulder gently.

"Oh," the nurse frowned. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Bolton but only one parent is allowed to be present during the biopsy. I thought that had been explained to you previously.

Troy and Sharpay immediately turned to look at each other. "You go its fine," Troy said first.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay questioned, although there was not a doubt in her mind that she would be the one going. Evan needed his mother more than he needed his father, although it pained Troy, even he had to admit it too.

Troy nodded, "Come on, we both know that you're going," he grinned.

"Thanks," Sharpay smiled.

"Ok buddy, I'll see you when it's all done alright," Troy bent down to hug his son. "I love you so much."

"I love you too dad," Evan said as he continued to hug his father.

"Mr. Bolton, you can wait in the waiting room and someone will get you when we bring Evan to recovery," the nurse stated, trying to rush things along somewhat.

"Um thank you," Troy pulled away from Evan but gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you soon, don't worry ok."

Evan nodded and waved at his father as he made his exit out of the room. Sharpay watched Troy go and feelings of sadness began to overwhelm her. She was counting on Troy to be her rock during the procedure.

"Ok Evan, have you ever taken a ride in a wheelchair before?" the nurse smiled.

"No," Evan shook his head.

"Then hop in, you're in a for a real treat," She motioned to the wheel chair in front of her.

Once Evan was all set in the wheel chair, the nurse wheeled him to the surgical unit. Sharpay followed at his side and it wasn't long until they reached their destination.

"Thanks that was kind of fun," Evan said as the nurse wheeled him into the room.

"No problem," the friendly nurse replied. "Um Mrs. Bolton, if you could wait right here. I just need to bring Evan in and then I can show you wear to scrub up."

"Sure thank you," Sharpay smiled as Evan waved to her. Once he was out of a sight, Sharpay let out a deep breath that she didn't even know she had been holding in.

Troy forced a smile at a passing nurse before walking out into the waiting room where his mother and mother in law were chatting away.

"What happened?" Lucy immediately asked as Troy took a seat on the love-seat across from his mother.

"What's wrong?" Julia followed suit.

"Nothing, they're just about to start the biopsy," Troy explained.

"Well then why aren't you in there?" Lucy questioned, somewhat bewildered by the presence of her son.

"Only one of us can be in there," Troy replied as he fiddled with his hands.

"Oh," Lucy bit her lip, knowing that Troy was upset that he was stuck out here while Sharpay got to hold Evan's hand. But if that were Troy in there when he was a little boy, she would certainly be the one with him. Nothing would stop her from being with her son, so she totally understood why Sharpay was in there but she also sympathized for her son.

"Do you want something Troy? Vance and Jack went to get coffee and donuts. I can tell them to grab one more," Julia suggested, thinking that Troy and Lucy might need a moment to themselves.

"Actually some coffee would be great," Troy replied.

"I'll be back soon," Julia placed her newspaper on the coffee table before getting up and heading out down the hallway.

"I'm sorry you can't be in there honey," Lucy moved to sit next to her son.

Troy sighed, "I just…I just want to make sure that he's okay. He was so nervous, I just want to hug him and make this all go away but I can't."

"You're right honey, you can't make this go away," Lucy grabbed Troy's hand gently. "But you can still there for him, he's going to need you, now more than ever."

"I know Mom," Troy closed his eyes.

"You're a great father Troy, I know how much you love him."

"But sometimes love isn't enough."

Sharpay was forced to put scrubs on over her clothes for sanitary purposes as well as scrub her hands clean for a good two minutes. Once she was finished, she walked into the room where the biopsy was to be performed. It was such a sterile and cold environment and she thought that Evan looked so small lying on the exam table. She walked over to him and took the supplied seat next to him.

"Hi baby," Sharpay said as she adjusted the mask over her mouth and nose.

"Hi Mom," Evan smiled as he saw his mom, no longer wearing her usual clothes. She almost looked like a doctor.

Just then, the doctor walked in and greeted both Sharpay and Evan. He explained the procedure to them, trying to speak more in layman's and kid friendly terms so that Evan would understand what was going on. After checking that Evan was still numb and couldn't feel anything around his hip, the doctor began the biopsy. First he cleansed the area with a special soap to make sure the site of the biopsy was very clean. Once the skin was clean, he placed several cloths around the spot before he began the actual biopsy. Immediately Sharpay held Evan's hand while a nurse watched over to make sure Evan was perfectly still. The doctor talked the whole time he performed the biopsy, making sure that Evan knew what was going on. Sharpay whispered comforting words to her son as she noticed several tears sliding down Evan's cheeks.

The doctor began the biopsy by placing a needle into Evan's bone marrow, he pulled a small amount of marrow out into a syringe. Evan took a deep breath as he felt a little bit of pain for an instant which was when a few tears came. The doctor pulled the needle out and explained that the first half of the test was done. Next, a larger needle was used and the doctor pushed done in the same spot until a small piece of bone was in the needle. Evan was starting to feel even more pressure at this point and was trying his best to stay still but he desperately wanted to move. Once he had the biopsy specimen, the doctor removed the needle.

"We're all done," the older doctor replied. "That wasn't so bad was it son?"

"Uh huh," Evan replied as Sharpay leaned forward and wiped away his tears before placing a kiss on his cheek.

"You did great honey," She smiled at him and caressed his hand gently.

The doctor took Sharpay out into the hallway to talk to her briefly while the nurse in the room washed off the special soap. She then applied pressure to Evan's hip for a few minutes making sure there was no extraneous bleeding. She then placed a bandage over his hip that he would have to wear for at least two days. The surgeon spoke to Sharpay saying that he would send the marrow samples to the lab where they would be looked at. The results would then be given to Evan's regular pediatrician and he would tell the Boltons the results in a few days once they were ready. Regardless of the outcomes, the Boltons would actually have to go to the pediatrician's office and not just hear them over the phone. Sharpay thanked the doctor before going back in to be with her son. A nurse brought Evan back to the recovery area where he was placed in a big chair, almost like a recliner. The nurse promised to bring him back some juice and a snack. Sharpay took off her scrubs and face mask before sitting next to her son.

"How are you feeling?" Sharpay asked him.

"Ok," Evan sighed.

"Sweetie, tell me the truth," Sharpay smiled at him. "We always tell the truth remember."

"Yeah," Evan bit his lip. "My hip hurts."

"We'll tell the nurse when she comes back and maybe you can take a little something for it, alright."

"Ok," Evan nodded. "Where's Dad? He said he would be here when it was all done, I want to see him."

"He should be here soon sweetie, a nurse was supposed to bring him back when you came to recovery."

Troy looked at his watch for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past few minutes. It had been a half an hour since he had left Evan and come out into the waiting room. He knew that the procedure would only last ten to fifteen minutes tops. He desperately wanted to know that everything went alright. He was on the edge of getting out of his seat and making his way to the front desk to find out what was going on. Lucy and Julia nervously watched Troy as they waited for word on their grandson. Vance and Jack seemed to be in much better spirits and were keeping their minds off of things by talking about the previous night's baseball game.

"Mr. Bolton," a voice called out causing everyone to look up.

"Right here," Troy sprinted up and over to the nurse, with his parents and in-laws right on his heels.

"Your son's biopsy is finished and he was just brought into recovery," the nurse told the family. "I can bring you back to see him."

"Great lets go," Troy followed the nurse back to recovery while the two sets of grandparents hugged each other in relief, happy that their grandson was ok.

"Yuck," Troy heard Evan's voice as he entered the recovery area, he smiled upon seeing him down a spoon of medicine. Troy walked in just as the nurse walked out after giving Evan some pain relief. "Hey buddy!"

"Hi Dad," Evan smiled at his father as he took a seat next to his mother.

"How are you Ev?" Troy questioned as he looked his son over, just checking to see that he was still in tact.

"Ok, my hip hurts still," Evan replied. "I'm a little tired too."

"He did great, he was so brave," Sharpay turned to Troy and couldn't help but smile.

Troy nodded, "I knew you would be bud, I'm so proud of you for being so tough," Troy bent down and kissed his son's cheek. "When can we get out of here?"

"In about a half an hour," Sharpay replied. "The nurse is going to bring him a snack and they want to monitor him for a little bit but then we'll be free to go."

"Grandpa Jack said that they had a present for me," Evan smiled, he couldn't wait. He thought he deserved a little something for the biopsy, it was a big deal.

A half an hour later, the Boltons found themselves leaving the medical center. Troy and Sharpay knew that there would be no way they could get rid of their parents especially since Evan knew they had a gift for him. So they told them to meet them at the house. Troy pulled into the driveway about ten minutes later. Sharpay grabbed the bags while Troy grabbed Evan, figuring that it would be easier to carry him since he was still in a bit of pain. The nurse had instructed Sharpay to give him a little bit of children's Tylenol if the pain persisted. If he was still hurting after forty eight hours than Sharpay needed to make an appointment with Evan's pediatrician.

"Mommy!" Aidan screamed as he ran outside, wearing only his Superman underwear.

"Aidan!" Ryan's voice could be heard well before he dashed outside.

"And where are your clothes mister?" Sharpay glared at her son who attached himself to her leg.

"I don't know," Aidan shrugged.

"Uh huh," Sharpay rolled her eyes.

Ryan made his way outside and smiled in relief upon seeing Sharpay and Troy. "Thank god you people are home!"

"Nice to see you too," Sharpay smirked at her brother.

"Here!" Ryan threw a bundle of clothes at his sister. "Your son's clothing that he refuses to put on."

Sharpay barely caught the shirt and shorts, "Ok everyone inside now."

"Yes Mama," Aidan took hold of Sharpay's hand and let her lead him inside with the boys following behind them.

"Where to buddy?" Troy asked Evan as they walked inside the house.

"Can we watch a movie?" Evan asked his father.

"We can do anything that you want," Troy smiled as he carried him over to the family room.

"So how'd it go?" Ryan asked Sharpay as she dropped off their stuff by the laundry room at the back door of the house, closest to the garage.

"Ok," Sharpay replied. "Ev was pretty great, he's so brave."

Ryan smiled, "That's my boy."

"I'm not even going to ask how it went here but thank you for at least not burning down my house."

"No prob," Ryan chuckled.

"Where's Ella?" Sharpay asked of her absent daughter.

"Good question," Ryan rubbed his head in confusion.

Sharpay just rolled her eyes and walked away in search of Ella and Aidan, who hadn't followed his mother and uncle to the laundry room. "Kids," she called out as she walked down the hallway. It didn't take long until she heard laughing coming from the kitchen. "Oh I so don't think so!" Sharpay exclaimed when she walked into the kitchen and saw Ella and Aidan feasting on cupcakes and chocolate frosting, straight from the container.

"And that's my cue to leave," Ryan bit down on his lip from behind his sister.

"You are so not leaving," Sharpay quickly turned around, looking less than pleased with her brother.

"Fine," Ryan grumbled.

"Aidan you are putting your clothes on now and Ella if you take one more bite, you're not having dessert for two weeks." Immediately Ella and Aidan dropped their spoons and backed away from the table.

"Sorry," Ella replied sheepishly knowing that what they were doing was wrong but it was just so fun to pull one over Uncle Ryan's head. "Where's Evan? Is he okay?" Ella asked, worried about her twin.

"He's going to watch a movie, why don't you go join him," Sharpay suggested.

"Ok," Ella replied.

"Come on squirt," Ryan grabbed his niece and tossed her over his shoulders before exiting the kitchen.

"Come on you," Sharpay pointed to her youngest who began to giggle.

"I no wanna wear those clothes that Unkie Ryan got for me!" Evan exclaimed when he saw that his mother was not laughing.

"Fine, upstairs then, we'll get you something else," Sharpay grabbed hold of his hand before leading him out of the kitchen.

"Mommy carry Aidan," Aidan said as he let go of her hand and held both of his hands up.

"Sorry honey but you're all messy," She pointed to his stomach which was now mysteriously covered in chocolate frosting. She knew the kid was messy but she didn't have the slightest clue as to how frosting ended up that far away from his mouth.

"Mommy," Aidan's bottom lip began to quiver and he stopped walking entirely.

"Aidan," Sharpay bent down before him. "We talked about this before honey, you're a big boy now so you don't always need me to carry you ok."

"Ok," Aidan sniffled, he liked the idea of being a big boy just like Evan but he was a little weary of giving up so much Mommy 'stuff.'

"Good," Sharpay smiled before standing up and brushing off her shorts. "Come on you," she took hold of his hand once again and they headed to the front stairs. "So did you have…" Sharpay stopped as the doorbell rang and then the front door swung open. She rolled her eyes, she couldn't fathom why they even bothered ringing when they all knew they were just going to walk right in. "Hello," Sharpay greeted her parents and her in-laws.

"Hi Sweetie," Julia walked into her daughter's house.

"Where's the boy?" her father got right to the point.

"Resting in the family room, you guys can join him for a movie," Sharpay replied. "Now if you'll excuses me, this one needs some clothes."

Aidan smiled and waved at his grandparents who laughed at his state of non dress and chocolate covered mess.

"Are you giving your mommy a hard time?" Jack asked his grandson.

Aidan shook his head and laughed, "No, just my unkie Ryan," he said before running up the stairs.

"Aidan," Sharpay ran after him while the grandparents ventured further into the house to see their grandson.

The day was extremely long for everyone in the Bolton household. Sharpay felt like everyone would never leave but finally after dinner Sharpay managed to get her parents, Jack, Lucy, and Ryan out of the house. She knew they just wanted to help but in the mean time they were driving her crazy. At least the kids were being good, Aidan and Ella were pretty much on their best behavior and spent most of the day making sure that Evan was in good spirits. Sharpay put Aidan to bed while Troy spent a little bit more time with the twins. He brought Evan upstairs once he noticed that the young boy was barely keeping his eyes open. So Troy dressed him and tucked him in; he kissed his forehead and moved a wisp of brown hair out of his face. Content to see his son sleeping, Troy began to leave the room.

"I love you," he whispered to his son.

"I love you too," Evan responded.

"I thought you were sleeping," Troy walked back to his son's bed.

"Almost," Evan replied.

"Well get some sleep, you've had a pretty long day," Troy replied.

Evan nodded, "Dad?"

"Yeah bud?"

"Thanks for being there today."

"I'm always going to be here, whenever you need me ok. Always remember that," Troy hugged him close and gently laid him back down when he heard Evan's shallow breaths; the little boy had fallen asleep. Troy got up and turned out the light.

"Hey," Sharpay came out of Aidan's room just as Troy came out of Evan's.

"Aidan asleep?"

Sharpay nodded, "Evan?"

"Yup," Troy responded.

"Good, good," Sharpay responded. "He's seemed pretty exhausted for the past couple of hours."

"He's had a long day," Troy added, "we all have."

"That we have," Sharpay sighed followed by a huge yawn.

"You should go to sleep yourself, I can put Ella to bed."

"No that's alright, I can do it. I'm sure that you're just as tired as me, you should go on home," Sharpay insisted.

"No, no, its fine. I'm going into the office late tomorrow."

"I don't have to work either and the kids don't have camp so we can sleep in."

"Sharpay I can…," Troy chuckled. "This is going to go on forever isn't it?"

Sharpay smiled, "Probably so."

"Well I have an idea," Ella said as she stuck her head outside of her room. Neither Troy nor Sharpay knew that she had come upstairs already.

"And what's that princess?"

"You both put me to bed!" She grinned. "Pretty Please!"

"Sure," Troy responded before Sharpay would have the chance to say no.

"Yay! I'm all ready. I put on my p.j.'s and brushed my teeth without you telling me," Ella replied proudly.

"I'm impressed sweetie," Sharpay giggled as she walked into her daughters room. She was glad that Troy had said 'yes' because she was in no mood to 'argue' anymore.

"Come on," Ella climbed into her pink princess canopy bed. "I got a book too. Daddy you sit here," she patted one side of her. "And mommy you can sit here," she patted the other side of her bed. Troy and Sharpay each sat down where they were told. "Daddy can you read? I love your funny voices."

Troy smiled before kissing his daughter's beautiful blonde head, "I'd love too princess." He took the book out of his daughter's hands and began the fairy tale. As he read he gained giggles from both mother and daughter.

"Thanks Daddy, that was so gooood," Ella applauded him once he was finished.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Troy replied.

"I did, Mommy too, right Mommy?" Ella looked at her mother anxiously.

"Yes it was quite nice," Sharpay smiled. "Your daddy does do the voices quite well. I think my favorite was the frog's."

"Why thank you Sharpay," Troy bowed as best he could for sitting in the bed.

"It was good but not that good, I wouldn't quit your day job," Sharpay snickered.

"Thanks for the tip," Troy smirked.

"Ok Ella Bella time for bed my love," Sharpay bent down and gave her daughter a kiss and a hug. "Sleep tight sweetie, I'll see you in the morning. I love you so much."

"I love you Mommy," Ella replied as she snuggled into her bed.

"I'll see you this weekend," Troy smiled down at his little girl once Sharpay had moved aside. "I love you," Troy said before snorting like the pig in the story that he had just read.

Ella snorted too before laughing, "I love you daddy or should I say piggy."

"Let's go with daddy," Troy kissed her cheek before turning off her bedside lamp.

"Night baby," Sharpay said once more as she and Troy slowly walked away from Ella's bed.

"Daddy? Mommy?" Ella called out to them just as they had made their way over to the door.

"Yeah?" Troy questioned.

"Yes baby?" Sharpay asked.

"Does this mean that you're gonna get back together again?"


	12. Chapter 12

Troy and Sharpay had both been stunned by their daughter's question. Sharpay was so taken aback at first that she didn't know what to say. She was absolutely speechless and frozen on the spot. Troy immediately stepped in, something that he had been doing a lot lately when it came to talking to their children. He explained as best he could that he and Sharpay were not getting back together again and that he was sorry she was confused. Once she found her voice again, Sharpay of course added that they both loved her and her brothers very much. The kids were their number one priorities and they would always take care of them. Ella nodded and said goodnight to both of her parents quickly before sleep overtook her. Troy definitely knew it was time to leave after that very awkward moment. So with a quick goodbye to his soon to be ex wife, Troy left his former home a little bit shaken but definitely upset. Upset that they had given Ella the wrong impression and upset that they were in fact not getting back together again. After Troy left, Sharpay checked on Ella before going to bed herself. She feared that Ella might still be awake and quite heartbroken after that little exchange. To her surprise, Sharpay found her daughter sleeping quite peacefully. After going to her own bedroom, Sharpay excused herself from her nightly bedtime rituals and just fell into her bed, exhausted after everything that had happened today.

As promised for the weekend, Chad and Troy took the boys to see the new Transformers movie while Taylor and Sharpay took Ella to see a new Disney Princess movie. All parties had an enjoyable time and it was nice for the Boltons to have a happy day and not dwell on Evan's upcoming biopsy results. Troy and Sharpay were set to go to Evan's doctor's office on Monday for the official results. On Sunday Evan and Ella's basketball games were cancelled due to a bad thunderstorm. Sharpay was somewhat pleased because she wasn't sure if Evan should be playing at all, if he was indeed sick. The last thing that he needed was to overdo it on the basketball court. Although, she was also a little disappointed because she had wanted to see her children actually play with their teammates. She knew how much they loved the game and how good they actually were, just like their dad. Due to the thundering rain, Sharpay and the children spent the day making all sorts of cookies. On Monday, Evan and Ella brought in a couple dozen to their fellow campers. While Aidan on the other hand, brought a few for himself and his grandmothers who were going to watch him at Lava Springs while also working on the anniversary party.

Sharpay grabbed her purse and her keys before heading out the front door. She was more than surprised to see Troy on the other side of the door with his finger on the doorbell, just about to press it.

"Troy, what are you doing here?" Sharpay questioned immediately.

"I thought we would ride together," Troy replied; he didn't want Sharpay to drive to the office by herself. Well actually he didn't want her to drive home by herself; he knew that she wouldn't be in the right frame of mind.

"I can go by myself Troy, I'm a big girl you know," Sharpay responded as she placed her hands on her hips, quick to get defensive.

"I know that Pay," Troy said slowly realizing his mistake of calling her by his favorite nickname for her. Since they were no longer together, he somewhat felt that he didn't have the right to call her that anymore. "Look Sharpay, I didn't want to go alone alright," he half lied, he did want to be with her. He needed the support just as much as she did but he was also extremely worried about her. Sharpay opened her mouth to speak but Troy cut her off, "Lets not fight about this, we'll be late if we do."

"Fine," Sharpay gave in with a long reluctant sigh or least it appeared that way. She hadn't wanted to go alone either but there was no way that she was going to ask Troy. There was no way that she was going to appear all vulnerable to him.

They climbed into Troy's SUV and drove to their son's pediatrician's office. Just like before the ride felt longer than a lifetime. Troy was seriously beginning to wonder if the car ride would ever end. Although a never ending car ride wouldn't be such a bad thing, it would prolong the inevitable bad news that they were about to hear. They drove in complete silence but it was anything but comfortable. They were forced to wait in the waiting room for about half an hour because the doctor was stuck with an emergency case. Sharpay pretended to read People magazine while Troy pretended to read the newspaper. But both were sick with worry and anticipation, leaving them both unable to concentrate on anything else. Sharpay was going through the motions of turning the pages but she barely read any of the words on the pages. Or on the off chance that she actually did, she read the same sentence for about five minutes straight. Her mind just wasn't into it and neither was Troy's.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," Amy the head nurse called out, startling both Troy and Sharpay.

Troy and Sharpay immediately dropped their periodicals at the sound of their names be called. Immediately Sharpay's heart began to beat faster and suddenly the room was getting smaller. She barely noticed Troy take her hand and help her stand up. Troy never let go of her hand so she was forced to follow him back to the doctor's office.

"Have a seat, Dr. Banks will be with you in a few moments," Amy smiled politely before shutting the door, giving them some privacy.

"You ok?" Troy asked, once they were both seated and Troy took notice of her flushed face.

"It's just a little hot in here," Sharpay replied as she unbuttoned the top button on her white blouse.

"I can get you some water from the reception area," Troy began to stand up but Sharpay's hand on his arm stopped him. "What?"

"You know that's not going to help," Sharpay said solemnly as she looked away, unable to meet his face.

Troy sighed before sitting back down, "I know. Sharpay, we're both in this…" Troy wasn't able to finish his sentence because Dr. Banks walked into his office.

"Sharpay, Troy," Dr. Banks walked into his spacious office. Normally greeting Sharpay and Troy was a treat for the distinguished doctor but this was an entirely different occasion. Dr. Banks had actually been Sharpay and Ryan's pediatrician when they were children. He was also a dear friend to Vance Evans and had known him since they were both at East High, eons ago. Now years later at age 60, he was treating Sharpay's children and had been since their births.

"Hi Dr. Banks," Troy and Sharpay both replied, however without the usual enthusiasm in the greeting.

Dr. Banks took a seat at his desk, across from Troy and Sharpay. He had grabbed Evan's file and placed it down on his desk. There really wasn't a need because he already knew the results. "How've you been?"

Troy was about to respond when Sharpay suddenly began to speak. "Dr. Banks, I know that you're just trying to be pleasant and delay the inevitable but can you please just give us the results," she said breathlessly; it took a lot out of her to say that.

Dr. Banks nodded his head solemnly at his friend's daughter. Sharpay was like a daughter to him as well, he watched her bloom from a cute little spunky girl to a beautiful and amazing successful woman. "There's no easy way to say this but Evan's biopsy results came back positive. He has acute lymphocytic leukemia." It truly broke Philip Banks heart to have to reveal the news to Troy and Sharpay.

Sharpay took a deep breath as Troy clutched her shaking hand tightly, "Okay," she said slowly, trying desperately not to cry. Although that wasn't entirely true, she wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry at the devastating news. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Even though she had somewhat been expecting the news, nothing could have ever prepared her for how she would feel when the words slipped past the doctor's mouth. She'd always had a little glimmer of hope in the back of her mind that the results would be negative; that the whole damn thing was one big mistake.

Troy was reeling from shock as well and was suddenly feeling rather dizzy. It was taking everything in him to sit up straight but he was trying to be strong for Sharpay. He couldn't fall apart in front of her, definitely not. He had been so optimistic, not ready to believe that his son was actually sick. But now he couldn't pretend anymore, it was true, written in black and white, Evan had leukemia. His six year old son had cancer, his six year old son. Evan was just way too young to be going through this. Troy closed his eyes trying to gather his thoughts, "What next?"

"I want you two to know that acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common form of childhood leukemia's. It has a very high survival rate and I have no doubt in my mind that Evan will be able to fight this successfully," Dr. Banks replied. "I'm going to refer you to an associate of mine, he's a great pediatric hematologist here in the building actually. He'll discuss Evan's options with you as soon as possible."

Sharpay nodded, unable to find her voice. For one thing, she was afraid that if she would open her mouth, she would throw up.

Unfortunately Troy had to disconnect one of his hands from Sharpay's to grab the envelope that Dr. Banks had to give him. "He's a good doctor?" Troy asked, knowing that he sounded like a scared little boy…but it was hard to put his thoughts into sentences at the moment.

"One of the best in the field," Dr. Banks replied. "He'll take good care of Evan, I won't steer you two wrong. I want the best for Evan as well."

"Thank you," Troy responded. They talked for a few more minutes and Dr. Banks said that he would be in touch. He wanted to be informed on Evan's condition as well. Dr. Banks also gave them so pamphlets on talking to your children and families about cancer. He also said he'd be happy to help them but it was best to be as honest as possible with Evan when telling him about his condition. Sharpay didn't speak one word during the rest of the time they spent in with Dr. Banks.

"Are you alright?" Troy asked the very silent Sharpay as they left the doctors office.

Sharpay shook her head 'no' and made a beeline for the nearest bathroom in the hallway. Once Sharpay finished emptying the contents of her stomach, she walked back into the hallway where Troy greeted her with a newly bought bottle of water and a box of crackers.

"Thanks," Sharpay spoke for the first time as she graciously took the bottle from Troy's hands. "It just came over me so suddenly."

"Let's sit you down Sharpay."

"No, no I'm fine now, I just want to leave. Can…can we go?"

"Are you sure?" Troy questioned, his worry for her had immediately intensified the second she left his side. He almost followed her into the ladies room but thought better of it in case there were other women in there. "I could go get Dr. Banks for you."

"No Troy really, I'm feeling a lot better after that. Besides Dr. Banks can't really treat my shock now can he."

Troy nodded slowly, "Ok, come on then, lets get you home." He took her free hand and led her out of the doctor's office. He was oddly surprised that she didn't attempt to pull away. Once they made it to his car, Troy opened the door for Sharpay and closed it once she settled in. He also gave her the box of crackers which she ate slowly on the long silent ride home. Once they arrived at their destination, Troy quickly got out of the car and ran over to Sharpay's side to help her out. He took hold of her arm gently and helped her to the front door. He pulled out his key so she wouldn't have to and unlocked the front door.

"Are you hungry or anything?" Sharpay asked once they were inside. "I can make you some lunch or something."

"No, I'm fine."

"Ok," Sharpay nodded nervously. "Um…"

"We should talk," Troy suggested.

"Right," Sharpay nodded her head once again. She had been dreading this, talking about it was going to make it even more real than it already was. Part of Sharpay thought, that if they just left it alone, perhaps it would just disappear out of their lives forever. "We…um…we should call that doctor right? I don't want to say anything to Evan yet…I…I don't even know what to say."

"We need to tell him soon though," Troy sighed. "It wouldn't be fair to just spring this upon him."

"I know that Troy," Sharpay said quickly and defensively. "I just…maybe this doctor will have some tips on what to say, he obviously does this a lot. I don't want to scare Evan, that's all."

"I know, its going to be alright Sharpay. I firmly believe that," Troy stated confidently.

"But what if its not?" Sharpay couldn't help but sniffle as she looked down at her sandal clad feet, completely avoiding Troy's intense gaze.

"It is," Troy placed his hands on either side of Sharpay's face and gently lifted it up so he could meet her eyes. "You heard Dr. Banks, this is the most common childhood leukemia, and it has a very high success rate. And our Evan, our boy is such a fighter."

"He is, he really is," Sharpay said, choking back her tears as she agreed with Troy. Evan, really was the strongest little boy that she had ever known. He had to fight this, he just had to. Both Troy and Sharpay were barely surviving as is and if anything were to happen to Evan…if he didn't survive this then neither would Sharpay and Troy.

* * *

**So sorry that its literally been like forever and a day since I've updated. But computer problems, spring break, and some serious writers block have all been in my way. But have no fear, I'm back on track. Also I was definitely inspired by the High School Musical 2 show at Disney Hollywood Studios over spring break. Clearly its certainly not as good as the movie but it was great to hear all the familar songs once again. Expect another update at the end of the week, I promise (and if for some reason it doesn't happen, feel free to throw rotten veggies at me but don't worry because it won't happen lol). I have a really good majority of it written. And thanks so much for all the great reviews on the last chapter, that was definitely a record for reviews on this fic. Please keep them coming, they do help me write faster, knowing that people are interested. Ok, I'm done, sorry for the rambling!**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Author's Note:_**

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going to be taking a break from writing this story for a little bit. We just found out this week that my dad has cancer himself so I'm not really up for writing about a cancer story right now (especially after Stages which was so depressing as well). I'm sorry to do this to you but at this point I just can't do it right now. I'll probably still write some other happier, fluffier, less depressing fics because I still love writing and Troypay! But its just too difficult to continue this right now but do not give up on it because I really do have great things planned for it (everything is mapped out). I still might post a few updates before Evan actually begins his treatments if I feel up to it. I already have about six pages of an update complete so I may post it this weekend. Thanks for sticking with me and you will be rewarded in the future when I continue and I know that I will…I'm just a little shocked and upset right now so bare with me. Thanks for reading guys!


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